You Can Have It
by TheGirlin404
Summary: It's been one of those days. You know the kind where you just want to kick back, relax and see your best friend? That's all Jane wanted at the end of the day, except tonight things don't go according to plan. Chapter 11 is now up!
1. Chapter 1 - Manhattan

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters or copyrights to anything Rizzoli and Isles related. Nor do I own some lines you might recognize from songs. This goes for the entire story so that I don't need to repeat myself each time. **

**AN: Hey Y'all! Yep, this story is back. I think I've gotten a good hold on where I would like for it to go, but it is still in progress in my mind. If this story seems familiar that's because it was up as a one shot previously with an idea of making it longer. This is the same chapter as was posted before so if you've read it you may just want to skip it for now and wait for chapter two, but I'll leave that up for you to decide. Enjoy!**

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It had been a long, tiring day. Working a murder was never an easy job, but when it was a college professor there was always a lot to check out. Anyone on campus could have motive and that meant a lot of interviews had to be done. Jane must have done twenty interviews with advisees of the professor herself, and that still left students who had the professor for classes, colleagues, and other staff of the university. So far they had nothing.

Jane stood up from her desk and stretched out her tired aching muscles and rubbed her eyes. Much more of looking at the statements they had taken today and she swore she would be cross-eyed. She looked up at the clock on the wall and smiled. It was time to head out for the day and she knew exactly what she was going to do. It was the same thing she always did on this night of the week. She was going to see her best friend. That would almost certainly make everything better. Just being near Maura always had a calming effect on her. She found that she could relax and just leave her stressors at the door when she got there. Thinking about it, she had to be one of the luckiest people in the world to have found a best friend like Maura Isles.

Rounding the corner of Maura's street Jane noticed there were no lights on in the house that were visible to the street. She had talked to Maura about trying to keep at least one visible light on so it would look like someone was home. No lights on though did surprise her a little. Maura knew she was coming so she had expected to see lights on in the living room since it was most likely that they would be watching a movie in there later. Maybe she was just prepping for their evening in the kitchen and hadn't gotten around to turning on other lights yet.

Jane pulled up in the driveway and parked on her side as usual. She hopped out of the cruiser and made her way up the steps of the Beacon Hill home of her best friend. She took out her keys and found the one that would correspond to the lock, but she stopped herself short of inserting it into the lock.

Maura had a bad habit of not locking her doors too; especially when she knew that someone was coming over. Jane had talked to her more about this than she had the visible light, but she still had a hard time getting Maura to lock the door. So she reached down to try the knob, expecting it to yield to her turning, but to her surprise it didn't budge. Maura had actually locked the door even though she knew she was coming over. Maybe some of the things she has said were starting to register with Maura.

She slid her key into the lock and felt it slide back smoothly when she turned the key. She immediate switched on the light in the foyer and started to unclip her gun and badge from her belt. She placed both of them in special drawer of the side table Maura had bought specifically for securing her service weapon for when she stayed at the house. "Maura, it's me," she called as she removed her boots and jacket. No reply came.

"Maura, you here?" she tried again moving towards the stairs. Still no reply came. She didn't like this. It was not like Maura to just not be somewhere she had said she'd be and not at least leave a note or send her a message to give her a heads up.

Jane made her way through the house switching on lights and lamps as she went. She still found no signs of life as she entered the kitchen and switched on the lights there as well. "Maur, answer me if you're here," she said more to herself than really thinking Maura would pop out from a cabinet somewhere and respond.

It was then she noticed it; a plain white envelope lying on the island countertop. Jane walked over to it and found that it wasn't entirely plain. It was addressed to her; her name, only her first name, was neatly scrawled in the unique script that could only belong to Maura Isles across the front. Jane's heart and stomach simultaneously plummeted to the floor. She had seen things like this before and she knew it couldn't be good. This was the equivalent of someone saying "we need to talk," except that this talk was much more serious than what could be done in person.

Jane flipped the envelope over and found that it had been left unsealed. She lifted the flap and found pages with Maura's neat script. Her hands started to shake; whatever this was she knew it was about to change her life.

_My Dearest Jane,_

_I'm sorry for doing this, but I'm leaving Boston. I can't stay here any longer when all this place seems to hold for me is sadness. I know I seemed happy; and for a time I was, because of you. You are in every happy memory I have of Boston and I want them to remain happy memories for the both of us. _

_So why leave? Because staying would break me; more than I'm broken by leaving you now. I Love You. I fell head over heels in love with you some time ago, but I knew I could never say anything. The second you pulled that trigger outside BPD you save your brother and the rest of us I knew I loved you more than anyone else I had in my whole life, and that I would never love anyone as much as I love you. At the same moment you scared me to death because I wondered how I would ever be able to go on if I couldn't get your bleeding under control and get you transported to the hospital quickly enough to save you. _

_I came so close to telling you; the day you took down Hoyt for good before he could kill us like one of his couples. I came so close to grabbing ahold of you and telling you exactly what you mean to me and how I felt about you. But there is one problem to this; you don't love me the same way I love you. It's alright that you don't because it's something that I have to deal with and work though. For a time I thought I had worked through it. I thought that I could be your best friend and be completely fine having no other hold on you than that, but I'm not. And I can't stay here and watch you fall in love with and have a life with someone else. It hurts too much._

_Like I said before this place now brings me sadness. It's where I learned that my birth parents aren't anything like I imagined when growing up. It's where I fell in love with the woman that I can never have. It's your town anyway. It's where you grew up and everything you love is here. I now bow out as gracefully as possible and tiptoe away. This will give us both space and allow the opportunity for new people to come into our lives. So you can have Boston, because I can't have you. _

_All My Love, _

_Maura_

_P.S. I don't currently have arrangements made for what I will do with the house, but I hope to soon. Your things might get packed in with mine if you don't take them before I have everything packed and sent to me, so please make sure you get your things. _

The pages of the letter and the envelope slipped through Jane hands. She turned so her back was to the island and slid down the cabinets to the floor. She couldn't move any more than that. She felt as though she had entered a nightmare or some crazy alternate universe. It couldn't be real. Her best friend in the entire world could not have just decided today to write her a letter telling her she loved her and then just left. Those kinds of things didn't really happen. But then again they must, because it just happened to her.

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**As always, I'd love to hear what you think. **


	2. Chapter 2 - She Wouldn't Be Gone

**Since I posted the first chapter already when I contemplated this story being just a one shot and hadn't changed anything and because several of y'all asked nicely that I please hurry and post another update soon, I thought I'd oblige. Enjoy!**

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_Chapter 2: She Wouldn't Be Gone_

Her eyes were puffy and swollen. She had no idea how long she'd been on the floor of the kitchen crying, but she knew she had become stiff a while ago from sitting there for so long. The tears were gone now. She had cried them out and if she cried anymore she felt like she might pass out; probably from dehydration. That was possible wasn't it?

Jane slowly turned her body and grabbed a hold of the island above her to give her some support while attempting to stand. She rose slowly. All of her muscles were tight and her joints ached. She felt like she'd been hit by a bullet train.

Then the thought hit like a bullet train. Maybe Maura wasn't really gone yet. Surely she couldn't have gotten that far yet. She had been at work earlier. Maura couldn't have been gone too long by the time she had made it to the house. Jane sprinted for the front door. She didn't bother turning off any of the lights she had turned on as she entered. She slipped back into her boots and jacket, grabbed her gun, badge, and keys from the side table and relocked the door. She ran for the car, sliding in behind the wheel and quickly cranking it over.

Jane flipped the lights and siren on as she backed out of the driveway. At this point she could care less if they took her job for using them in what they would consider a nonemergency situation. To her this was the biggest emergency of her life. She had to get to her best friend and she would do anything to make that happen.

She pulled up to BPD, making it there in record time, and parked in the garage. She didn't see Maura's car in the garage in her normal spot, but that didn't mean that she wouldn't have parked somewhere else. She knew there had to be a chance for Maura to be there. It was where Maura would try to hide out if things were going wrong. It always calmed her because in there everything had an order and procedure and that would lead to the answer. Maura always did best with things that had a definite order and procedure.

Jane raced through the lobby and rushed through the door leading to the stairwell. She didn't want to have to wait on the elevator. She reached the basement and pushed through the door leading her to the hallway outside of the morgue. She peaked inside, but didn't see anyone around. She looked across the hall. The lab was right across the hall, but when she looked inside she found no one there, just like in the morgue. She slowly made her way down the hall to Maura's office door. The door was closed and there were no lights on inside the office. Even the blinds in the windows were pulled so she couldn't see inside.

She couldn't resist, she had to try the knob. She knew it was a long shot to find the door unlocked, but she couldn't leave without trying. She slowly lifted her hand to the knob and tried turning. It didn't budge. When it refused to turn she let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. The fact that Maura was possible really gone sunk in a little deeper at that moment and she had to fight to keep more tears at bay.

She couldn't give up yet. There were still a couple of other places where Maura might still be. Jane walked out of the front of the lobby at BPD to head back to her car. She stopped at the top of the steps. She couldn't help but look over at the spot where she knew it had all taken place. It was hard to believe that someone could fall in love in a moment like that, but she knew from experience that it could happen anywhere at any moment. Especially when it seemed like it was least likely to happen. She inhaled deeply trying to calm herself and continued to the car.

Jane slid into a parking spot at The Robber and pulled the key from the ignition. Although it was unlikely that Maura would be here there was still a possibility for it. It was the closest place to BPD. Maybe Maura had decided she needed one more glass of their Red before she took off. If nothing else maybe someone in there could pinpoint the last time they had seen her that day and it could give her an idea of how far behind Maura she was at this point.

She walked through the door and her eyes immediately landed on their usual booth. To her surprise there was a woman with honey blonde hair sitting there with her back to the door. She stopped for a moment. It couldn't have been this easy. Fate wouldn't allow for that would it?

The woman turned at that moment and she realized right away that it wasn't her honey blonde sitting there. This woman she had never seen before, and by looking at the profile of her Jane could tell that the woman didn't look anywhere near as beautiful as the honey blonde that would normally be sitting in that booth.

"Jane?" she heard her name called from somewhere over near the bar, but it was a little crowded and she couldn't tell exactly who had called. She decided it was best to head in the direction of her name.

Once she was a little closer to the bar she realized it was her former partner who had called her name. "What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be at the Doc's house tonight?" Korsak asked.

"I was, but she wasn't there when I got there. I thought maybe she was here," her voice sounded raw and a little harsh from the crying. She hoped he wouldn't notice.

"I haven't seen her here. I know she picked up some tea in the café earlier in the day, but that was the last time I saw her. She was going to get started on the autopsy of our professor," he said. "Is there something wrong? I can't imagine her not telling you where she was at."

"No, nothing's wrong," she lied. "I think we just had a miscommunication about where we were meeting tonight and we'll get it all straightened out later." Jane turned to leave. She had other places to look.

"Thanks though Korsak. I'll talk to you later," she threw over her shoulder as she headed towards the exit. She wasn't really sure if he had heard her though since the bar was crowded and she was moving rather swiftly across the room so she could get to her next stop.

She got lucky when she pulled up outside her building. She found an empty spot not too far from her steps and maneuvered into it quickly. Although she had stopped using her lights and sirens to try and make it around faster she knew Maura would have scolded her for all of the traffic violations she had made tonight. She hopped out of the cruiser and took the steps two at a time until she reached the door of her building and inserted her key so she could get inside to her apartment. Jane walked over to the elevator and hit the button to wait for a car. She was starting to feel exhausted.

She walked into the waiting car once it came and hit the button for the third floor. As it made its slow ascent she once again wondered how any of this could really be real. Mainly she was hoping that she would wake up any moment to find that she had fallen asleep next to Maura on her couch while they were watching one of those animal documentaries Maura loved so much, but always made her fall asleep. She knew that would never happen though. This was real.

The doors slid open on her floor and she trudged her way over to her apartment door. She stopped in front of it. She didn't know what her next move was if she opened the door and found out that Maura wasn't sitting there waiting on her. She didn't want to imagine her life without Maura.

She took a deep breath in to steel herself and plunged the key into the lock and turned it. She pushed back the door. The only light on was the one she had left on earlier. Nothing in the apartment stirred. Not even Jo came in to greet her. Frankie must have worn her out when he took her to the dog park earlier.

Jane walked further into her apartment. This was insanity. How does someone just decide that they are going to walk out of your life because they are in love with you but too afraid to tell you besides leaving a note for you to find? In a million years she never thought Maura would be the person to blindside her like that and then walk away all at once. Her anger started to take over now. You just don't do that to someone you love. She looked over and saw her workout dummy. She hauled back and hit it one time for good measure to release some of the building frustration she felt. Then she turned and headed back out of the apartment to her car.

She decided she needed to go back where it all began. She needed to find out if there was anything there that could tell her where Maura had gone. There had to be something there. "Dammit Maura!" She screamed as she hit the steering wheel with her fist. She was flying down the road again, but she didn't care. She had gone every place she could think of and hadn't had any luck.

Jane started to wonder if she couldn't have just avoided this whole situation in the first place. The problem was she thought she was the one secretly pining after her best friend who would never feel the same way. She knew she had feelings other than friendship for Maura for a long time, but she knew that she couldn't live without her the day Hoyt had attacked them both. It was why she fought so hard that day and had killed him. She wouldn't have been able to live if he had killed Maura. It still hurt to this day to think that he had left a scar on her. But you can't tell your straight best friend who constantly has a parade of men through her bedroom that you love her in more than a friend should sort of way. If she had though, maybe she wouldn't be gone.

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**Thanks for reading! And as always, I'd love to hear from you!**


	3. Chapter 3 - Help!

**Hey Y'all! Thank you so much for all the faves, follows, and reviews. It means so much to me that you want to read more of this little story of mine and here's the latest chapter. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 3: Help!**

Jane pulled into Maura's driveway once again. All the lights in the house were still ablaze the way she had left them earlier. She sat in the car a few minutes trying to figure out her next move.

It was obvious that she had to go after Maura, but how? Where had Maura gone anyway? This was now bigger than what she could handle on her own. She needed help, and there was only one person she could think of that might be able to help her start to fix this.

Jane walked back through the front door of Maura's. She continued throughout the house turning off all the lights she had turned on. There wasn't any point in having them on any longer. Once she reached the kitchen Jane walked over to the back door and pulled it open and exited the rear of house. She walked across the small courtyard and held her hand up to the door she was now facing. After a moment's hesitation of wondering if she were doing the right thing by asking for her mother's help, her knuckles rapped on the door of the guesthouse.

"Be right there!" Jane heard shouted at the door, but muffled like her mother was somewhere near the back of the house. Thirty seconds must have passed before her mother made it to the door and opened it to find her standing there on the step.

"Jane, what are you doing here? I thought this was going to be a night for you and Maura."

"I need your help, Ma, please. I'm not entirely sure what I should do here," she said; her voice cracking at the end of her sentence. She was near tears again.

"Janie, what's the matter? You just come right in here and tell me everything. We'll work it out," she said moving aside in the doorway to allow Jane through.

Jane stepped past her mother and continued through to the living room of the house. She made herself comfortable on one end of the couch and prepared herself to tell her mother the whole story, but first she had to ask, "Do you know where Maura is?"

"What do you mean do I know where she is? I thought she was with you in her house having your normal girls' night," her mother replied.

"Did you see her in the café today at all?"

"Well yes, Jane, I did. She was there early in the day just after you all got back from the scene at the university. Jane what's going on here? Has something happened to Maura? Has she been kidnapped or something?" her mother started to fire off questions and become a little hysterical.

"No, Ma, calm down for just a sec. She's hasn't been kidnapped and nothing's happened to her. That I know of right now," Jane explained. "I came to her house this evening like we had planned, but when I showed up she wasn't here. I found a note left for me."

"You found a note?" Angela asked interrupting her.

"Yes, a note. Just give me a second to explain," she continued. "Or better yet, maybe I should just have you read the letter. That would explain a lot," she said as she started to dig in her pockets for the note.

"Crap, where is it?" she said out loud, but to herself. She tried her jacket pockets first and then her pants pockets, but all of them came up empty. What had she done with the letter? Then she remembered how it had slipped through her fingers just before she ended up on the floor of the kitchen.

"You know what just hang on a second and let me grab it," Jane told her mother as she left the couch and went flying out the door of the guesthouse. She returned a couple of minutes later with the letter in her hand. "I found this on the kitchen counter when I got here earlier," she explained as she handed the letter over to her mother.

"Aside from me you are the closest person to her here. I thought maybe she would have left you some kind of an explanation," Jane said as she watched her mother begin to read the letter. Jane could see her mother's face contort from shock to pain and back to shock again as she read.

"I don't think I entirely understand this," her mother said looking up from the letter she'd just finished reading.

"I don't entirely understand it either, Ma."

"What are you going to do about this?" her mother asked.

"I need to find her. I need to talk to her. And I need to get her to come back. But there's no information on where she went. I can see why she didn't tell me. Obviously she knew I'd try to come after her and she didn't want that, but I had hoped she would tell someone where she was or how to get ahold of her."

"What do I do Ma?" she asked as she lowered her gaze to the floor. She was subconsciously rubbing the scar on her left palm with her right hand.

"Jane, do you love her?"

She remained silent, still staring at the floor. More than anything she wanted to tell her mother yes, but she couldn't make the words come out. She had never loved another woman until she realized she was in love with Maura, but growing up she had been taught that it was a sin to love someone of the same sex. What was she supposed to do? Would her mother accept her if she found out her only daughter didn't want to settle down with a nice man?

"Jane. Do you love her?" her mother asked again. "She has confessed that she loves you, but she doesn't think that there is any hope of that love being returned. That is one of the hardest things to deal with. If you don't feel the same way for her, you shouldn't go after her. She needs time to heal, to learn how to deal with this unrequited love, and to move on before she'll be ready to see you again."

"Yes, I love her," Jane spoke up after another moment's hesitation. "That's why I have to go after her. I love her more than I've loved anyone ever before and I can't imagine my life without her in it. I know that me loving her may not be okay with you and that I won't make your dreams of me meeting a man and settling down and giving you grandchildren come true, but she's my dream. She is what I want, and I have to find her before she thinks that I don't care."

"Janie," her mother said taking a hold of the hand that she had been rubbing, "do you think that I want anything for you that would make you unhappy? I wanted you to find a man and settle down because I wanted you to be happy. My greatest joy was having you kids and that's something I wanted you to experience, but if it's not what will make you happy then so be it. If Maura is who you want then you need to go after her."

"Thanks Ma."

"Anytime baby. I would still like some grandchildren from you one day, but for now I do have T.J.," her mother said giving her a wink.

"Okay, Ma," Jane said with a weak laugh. "Maybe one day, but please don't start pushing that until I find out if I can even get Maura back. And I don't have any idea of where she might have gone. There are so many places."

"Well, I think I can help you with that," her mother said standing up and walking over to the desk in the corner of the room.

Jane's eyes followed her mother trying to figure out what it was her mother had up her sleeve. Surely her mother didn't lie to her earlier when she said she had no idea of where Maura might be. After a couple of minutes of flipping through something her mother turned and headed back towards her on the couch.

"I think you'll find that there is one other person that Maura sometimes talks to and I have a strong feeling that this person will know exactly where to find her," her mother said handing her over and address book.

"Of course, why didn't I think of that?" Jane said. She couldn't believe she hadn't figured out that there was one other person that Maura would talk to, especially if she needed to get out of Boston in a hurry. "Ma, you're amazing."

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**Thanks for reading! As always I'd love to hear what you have to say!**


	4. Chapter 4 - Bartender

**AN: Hey everyone! I want to say thank you so much for all the new faves, follows, and reviews for this story. I am struggling with a bit of writer's block at the moment and all of those give me more reasons to keep trying to work it out so I can get the next part of the story out to you. **

**Now for a little FYI: The Maura I create in my stories is usually at least a little out of character than what you may be used to on the show. She doesn't always google mouth and her actions and reactions to things are going to be different than they probably would be on the show. If that bothers you you might want to stop reading now and move on to a story where the author is able to write her as more of the character we know and love. I do my best to keep the spirit of the Maura we love from the show, but in this story she is my Maura (even though I hold no real rights to her) and I write her the way I feel she needs to be to reflect my story. I know that how I write her has upset some readers in the past which is why I felt I should give you all some warning now. So on to the next chapter of the story. Enjoy!**

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_**Chapter 4 -**_**Bartender**

She sat at the end of the huge mahogany bar, which was located just off the lobby in her hotel, with another glass of red wine in front of her. The rather plush stool she sat on was nearest the wall at the end of it. This spot afforded her the most privacy. Not that she necessarily needed it; the bar was pretty empty at the present moment. She wasn't sure if it was just a slow night or the fact that it was getting rather late. She didn't mind it too much though because tonight she needed the quiet. Otherwise she might have found a different place to drink so her memories faded away.

When she was younger she would hit up a club and chase a disco ball around until she couldn't remember what was troubling her. There used to be comfort in the fact that she could go in somewhere and get lost in the noise and the lights of a place. That had been years ago though, now she needed somewhere more peaceful she could sit and replay the stupid thing she'd done in her mind and drown her sorrows.

Speaking of stupid things, who actually did what she had just done? Who just decided one day that they couldn't take seeing their best friend, whom they happened to be in love with, happy with someone else and decided that they would leave? She probably needed to look into seeing a psychiatrist because there must be something wrong with her that she would just up and leave her life like that and then leave a note telling Jane that she was in love with her.

"Bartender," she called. "Bring me a double shot of Crown neat, please." The wine wasn't going to cut it anymore. She needed something stronger. The bartender set her glass down in front of her and she picked it up taking a slow sip from it. It burned all the way down, but the burn in her throat couldn't compare to the ache she felt inside her chest.

The ache was the reason she'd left. It had started the day Jane had shot herself and had become increasingly stronger ever since. She had tried to dull the pain, to those on the outside it looked like one night stands, but it was the only way she had figured out that she might be able to escape. It hadn't worked though, not one single time. She always just wanted to run to Jane afterwards and tell her, but she had never had the courage.

The bartender came over and poured her another drink. She picked it up like the last one and took a sip. The pain was easier to handle when Jane was single. They got to spend more time together and for a short time she was able to pretend that it would always just be the two of them. That somehow they would realize they loved each other and just let it go from there and build a life together. That's why it's called pretend, or a dream, or whatever people wanted to call it.

It was when she started to see Casey that the pain had become almost unbearably intense. Of all the men Jane had seen he was the perfect candidate for Jane's affections. He was smart, handsome, kind, caring, serving his country and a crush from high school for Jane. But it was like there was something missing between them though, that spark or connection seemed to be lacking. Even though Casey was kind and caring, he often put what he wanted before he thought of Jane and that drove her up the wall. Jane would have her moments, but most of the time she tried to think about others and put their needs ahead of her own and Jane needed someone who would do the same with her so they could balance each other out.

Maura went to take a sip of her drink when she realized that it was empty once again. She has finished that one off faster than she thought she would. She must be getting used to the taste because it didn't burn going down anymore. She could also feel it starting to hit her system, but she didn't care. She motioned for the bartender to pour her up another. Tonight she'd go until he cut her off.

That's why she was here. She was here because they couldn't see that they didn't have a connection. They strolled blindly ahead thinking that things were perfect and it was going to lead to a wedding and a marriage that wouldn't make either of them happy. That was something she couldn't stick around to see. She couldn't stay and watch Jane thinking she was happy and marrying Casey. And she couldn't be the one to tell Jane that he wasn't right for her either. If she did Jane would only rebel and claim to love him that much more. That's what hurt the most; that Jane couldn't see past the fact that there was someone out there who could love her more, love her better, than a man who kept choosing to leave her.

So, she'd left. She decided to make a clean break of things and to try to move on. She could move somewhere and start over in a new place that didn't hold the sad memories of Jane and finding out who her birth father was. She could pick a place and make a life that she wanted to have. It was the hardest thing she'd ever decided to do, but necessary.

Needing to get away she had called her mother to find out if she could take the Foundation jet and come for a visit before she settled on some new place, but when she called she found out that her mother was already in New York getting ready to open a new installation in a couple of days. So she'd come to New York to see her mother and the installation. She had checked into the hotel and come to the bar hoping to fade her memories.

She looked down into the glass that sat empty before her once again. She signaled to the bartender once more. He walked over to her and instead of pouring her another glass he picked it up off the bar and set it with the dirty glasses he had that needed to be washed.

"I think you've had enough for tonight," he said before Maura could protest his action. "You're going to have one major headache tomorrow as it is."

"Well then, I think I'll just head up to my room for the evening," Maura slightly slurred. There was a mini bar up there and she could probably order whatever she wanted from room service. Having the last name Isles around here meant she had a lot of pull, but the bartender was right; at the moment she didn't need another drink. Drinking wasn't getting her anywhere. With that thought she slid from her seat at the bar and steadied herself before she turned and left the bar heading for the bank of elevators that would take her to her room.

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**Thanks for reading! As always I look forward to hearing anything that you may have to say!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Ok, my main AN will come at the end this time. Enjoy!**

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Jane slowly came awake. She sat up in the bed trying to remember where she was and what had happened. She realized that she was in Maura's guest bedroom and in a second in all came rushing back that Maura was gone, only leaving a note behind; a note that said she was in love with her. She looked over at the clock on the bedside table. It had been the middle of the night before she had even tried to drift off any at all, and even then it had been a restless sleep.

When she had finished talking with her mother last night she hadn't wanted to return home, but she couldn't make herself go into Maura's room either. She figured that if she were to go in there it would look like Maura had just gone out for the day or evening and would return any second, except that she wouldn't. Jane couldn't make herself go into Maura's room if it were going to look like that because it would just remind her that she was so close to losing the person that meant the most to her. She might have even lost her already. Only finding Maura and speaking to her in person would let her know for sure. So, she'd spent the night in the guest bedroom. It was strange to sleep in there again. It had become easier to share the bed in Maura's room so they could stay up talking if she didn't end up going back to her apartment at the end of the night.

She threw back the cover of the bed and got up out of it. She reached over to the drawer of the bedside table and opened it taking out the address book her mother had given her the night before. She flipped back to the section that contained the I's and then turned over the page until she hit Isles. There were two of them in the book and by alphabetical order that meant that Constance came first. Her mother didn't have an address written in the space, but she did have a phone number and that was all she really needed.

Jane had chickened out on calling Constance first thing last night. Honestly, she didn't know exactly where Constance was right now and she was afraid she might wake her up in the middle of the night asking about Maura when Maura might not have even told her mother yet and she didn't want to be the one to tell Constance that Maura had left. And she was rambling in her mind again about the reason that she didn't call last night. She needed to stop that. It couldn't be undone now. She just needed to buck up and pick up the phone and call. She walked downstairs and decided to use the land line in the kitchen to call.

She picked up the phone and hit the button to make sure she had a dial tone and then took a deep breath trying to steady the nervous feeling she suddenly had. She looked down at the number in the book once more and started dialing.

"Isles," was the greeting she heard when the phone was answered just after the fourth ring. Jane immediately recognized the voice as that of Constance.

"Mrs. Isles," she greeted, "It's Jane Rizzoli. I was hoping that you had some time to speak with me."

"Ah, Jane, I knew I'd be hearing from you soon. And please skip the formality of calling me Mrs. Isles. I'd prefer you call me Constance."

"You knew you'd be hearing from me?" Jane questioned.

"Well it didn't take much to figure out what was going on," Constance replied. "Maura called asking if she could use the Isles Foundation jet and come for a visit. I find that she is much like you when it comes to voluntarily taking time off work so I knew that something had to be going on."

"So she's with you right now then?"

"In a manner of speaking, I guess you could say that."

"In a manner of speaking?" Jane repeated as a question back to her.

"Yes, that is what I said Jane."

"Look, Mrs. - Constance, I need to see her. Where is she?"

"And that is where we hit a dilemma. If I tell you where she is then I would be going against her wishes for me not to tell anyone. While her specific words "not to tell anyone where I am if they call asking" I'm fairly confident she mainly meant you, though I didn't ask her specifically if she meant anyone in particular. I'm supposed to tell you that she is doing well and that she wishes not to speak with anyone at the present time."

"Look," Jane said starting to get a little angry. "I know that she is hurt right now, but how do you think I feel? She left. She left and only left a note. A note that told me that she loved me more than anyone else. What makes it worse is that now I don't even get to say anything about that.

"I don't know for sure that she even discussed the contents of her letter to me with you, but I have a feeling that she did since she didn't feel like she could even share that she was leaving with anyone here. And I don't know what you might think about what she said in her letter, but I need to talk to her about it because I love her too. I feel exactly the same way, but just like her I didn't know that I could tell her. I didn't know or even think that there could ever be a hope for a woman as wonderful as she is to ever love some crazy, brash detective like me."

"Please," Jane said after taking a short pause from her long winded rant. "I need to see her. I need to tell her in person. It scares me to death to do it because I'm afraid that she will think I'm lying or trying to make it up so that she'll come back, but I'm not.

"I. Love. Her." She said stating each word clearly and precisely. "I will do anything I need to show her how much I love her, but first I need to know where she is so that I can get to her. Please, Constance. Help me do that?"

"Jane, you're right. She did discuss the contents of the letter with me. She explained everything shortly after she got here last night. From the way you phrased it, it seems to me that you think I might have a problem with the sex of the person my daughter chooses to love. I have to tell you now that it doesn't bother me in the slightest. I just want for her to find someone who loves her, who will treat her the way she deserves to be treated, and will make her happy. If that person is you then I won't stand in your way as a couple.

"I would only try to stop you if I thought that you were going to try to hurt her, but I can tell from just your words that that is the farthest thing from your mind right now. So I will give you a chance. Right now we are in New York. I am opening a new art installation tomorrow night and Maura will attend. Come to the installation and take it from there. I can't promise that she will make it easy to talk to her, but you did say that you would do anything and I know you aren't the kind of woman who gives up easily when you're going after something you want."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you" Jane shouted into the phone a little bit louder than she'd intended. "I promise you that I won't hurt her. I already did when I didn't tell her how I felt and I don't want to do that ever again. You won't be sorry for giving me this chance. I will see you tomorrow night."

"Call me once you've arrived and I will give you the address of the installation. I will also make sure you get added to the guest list so you won't have any problems getting in. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow night Jane."

With that the line went dead. Jane could hardly believe it. She felt an incredible amount of weight lift off of her shoulders. She knew where Maura was and luckily she was only a few hours away. She was going to get to see Maura and get the chance to explain everything!

Jane looked up at the clock on the wall. She hadn't realized how late it was getting! She needed to get back to her apartment and pack. Then she'd need to figure out the best way to get to New York today.

She raced back upstairs and headed towards Maura's bedroom. Knowing that she was going to get to see Maura put the fear out of her mind that she'd had earlier about seeing the room without her there. She needed to see if Maura had taken it with her. If she hadn't she needed to make sure that she took it to her.

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**Are y'all ready to throw stones yet? Does it seem like it's starting to drag out with them getting nowhere? I would really appreciate your views on this in a review. Thank you all so much for all of the favs, follows, and reviews; they mean a lot to me! And I promise that we are right around the corner from the girls being in the same room together so if you do find it starting to drag keep that in mind as we head into the next chapter. Thanks again! And as always I'd love to hear anything you have to say on this story or my other!**


	6. Chapter 6 - 1000 Times

**Thank you! All of your faves, follows, and reviews mean so much to me. I appreciate them more than I will ever have the words to be able to say. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 6: 1000 Times**

A black town car pulled up at the curb outside of the gallery. The driver quickly got out and headed around to open the door for his passenger. He easily popped open the door and the woman gracefully stepped out.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, ma'am. Have a good evening," he responded.

Constance had surprised Jane when she'd gotten to New York. Not only had she made sure to put Jane's name on the list for the opening of the installation, she had set up a hotel room for her as well as arranging for a car that would pick Jane up at the hotel and take her that evening.

Jane stood on the sidewalk watching as other guests headed inside the doors of the gallery. She knew that this was going to be a big moment. She knew it could go either way. Maura would either be happy to see her or quite upset. She was hoping for the previous, but she didn't know for sure. Sometimes Maura could be unpredictable and she loved that, except for now.

She took a deep breath and steeled herself. There was no turning back now. She walked over to the security guard checking the guest list and gave her name. After a brief look down at the list she was let through the doors and into one of the best installations she'd ever seen. Although technically this was only really the second one she'd seen. The first being the one where she had called Constance out about being a bad mother.

The party had actually started half an hour ago. Knowing Maura as she did, Jane knew that she would have been there from the time it opened. She hoped that by arriving a little later she could slip in with a crowd and move around the gallery and find Maura without Maura seeing her first.

So far things were going just as she'd hoped. She slipped in with a few other people and made her way to the back of the room where there was a bar set up. There was a corner near the bar where she could stand and basically blend into the wall behind her. Not only could she grab a quick drink she'd have the perfect spot to scope out at least this one room with little chance of being seen. There was still at least one more room to the gallery that the installation was in that she would have to scope out later, but for now she would concern herself with what was right in front of her.

Jane stood in a corner slowly sipping on a glass of champagne she'd gotten from the bar and studied the room. Not only did she study the artwork, which she surprisingly kind of liked, she studied the people. She was looking for that one particular person that she had come here to see, but in all of her searching she hadn't yet seen even a small glimpse of that honey blonde hair she loved.

She looked down and realized that she'd finished off her glass of champagne and decided to grab another one before making her way around the edge of the room to the other room she knew was also a part of the installation. She slowly made her way around the room watching for Maura. She was afraid Maura might run if she spotted her there and then she'd have come for no reason.

Jane made it to the back of the second room of the gallery and quickly took in the fact that she would have to be much more exposed here than in the other room. This one contained only art which meant that it was considerably more lit than the back of the other one by the bar. She did a quick sweep of the room looking for Maura. Once again she didn't spot that honey blonde hair she'd been hoping for, but she did catch sight of Constance. She wanted to go over and ask her where Maura was, but she didn't want to get out in the middle of the room and expose herself. She decided to head back to her corner by the bar and wait.

She'd just finished her second glass of champagne and was headed for her third when she finally spotted what she'd been looking for. Those gorgeous honey blonde locks were standing a few feet back from one of the pieces at the front of the room. Jane just froze. She couldn't believe she was actually seeing her. She stood at the back of the room and started to count the steps between them. Thirty steps or so was all that separated them, but she wasn't ready to step out quite yet. She stood there for a moment just looking at Maura.

She looked beautiful, amazing even, but Jane could see something. Anyone looking at Maura would see perfection. The perfect dress, the perfect hair and makeup, and the perfect smile on her face; except that Jane could tell it wasn't a genuine smile. The smile lit up her face and she looked great with it, but it didn't light up her eyes. That was a clear indication that she was upset about something and it made Jane's heart ache. She was the reason that Maura was here faking having a good time with people that she didn't want to be around.

She grabbed two glasses of champagne from the bar and made her way through the room. She moved in cautiously behind Maura, trying not to startle her or give herself away before she was ready to speak. She stood just a few feet from Maura trying to figure out what was running through her mind at this exact moment; trying to figure out exactly what she should say.

Jane stepped a few feet closer and said, "You look like you could use a drink."

Maura's posture immediately stiffened when she registered the voice who had just spoken the words. She didn't turn to look at Jane though; she just stared straight ahead at the work of art in front of her. Jane would have started to wonder if Maura had heard her at all if she hadn't stiffened before.

"Please, Maur. We need to talk," she spoke so quietly she barely heard herself speak the words. But Maura must have heard them because at that moment she turned. What Jane saw made her heart ache that much more. The golden flecks of those hazel eyes burned with great intensity, but tears welled in the corners of them at the same time.

With that look Maura turned and started to stride away from her. Shit, this part of the evening was obviously not going to go the way she had hoped. And at this moment she was wondering why she had chosen tonight to wear a dress and high heels. Maura would have been much easier to follow if she'd been in her pant suit and boots. She followed as quickly as she could and ditched the two glasses she'd been holding so she could make her way through the crowd easier, but by the time she reached the spot she'd last seen Maura she was no longer anywhere in sight.

She decided to try the bathroom, though she didn't expect to find her there. Maura would surely have thought she would come looking there, but it never hurt to try. Jane made her way across the room and into the ladies room. As she entered through the door Jane noticed a couple of ladies standing at the sinks checking their makeup. There was only one stall that was occupied by someone and Jane made her way over and ducked her head to see if she could recognize the feet. She quickly ascertained that they definitely didn't belong to Maura, as well as earned a strange look from the other ladies in there, and strode back out.

She didn't care if Maura kept trying to run and kept pushing her away. She'd come back 1000 times. She'd wait forever if that's what it took to make Maura see how much she loved her. Right now though, she needed help again to find Maura and she knew just where to go.

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**Thanks for reading! I look forward to hearing what you have to say, so let me have it! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey Everyone! Thank you all so much for all of the faves, follows and reviews. I loved reading all of the reviews from the last chapter; they made my day. This chapter is a little shorter than the others of this story, but I felt it necessary to include before we can continue on to more important things. Enjoy!**

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Jane turned from where she stood near the door where she'd tried to follow Maura and headed to where she'd last seen Constance. She had helped her thus far and surely she would know where Maura might go in this city better than she would.

She made her way through the crowd, back to the other room of the installation where she'd last seen Constance. Constance had obviously made her way around the room because she was now at the opposite end from where Jane had seen her earlier speaking with guests.

"Where would she go?" Jane asked, walking up and interrupting a conversation Constance was having with other people. "She stormed out of here and I need to go after her, so where would she go?"

"Excuse me for a moment," Constance said, trying to politely excuse herself from the conversation that she'd been having. She took Jane by the arm and stepped a few feet away from the other guests so they could speak a little more privately.

"What do you mean she stormed out of here?" she questioned Jane.

"Okay, maybe stormed is a rather strong word. I walked up to her and told her she looked like she could use a drink. She hesitated and then when I told her we needed to talk she looked up at me and then turned on her heel and started walked away from me. I tried to follow her but I lost her when a crowd of people got between us."

"Well if she got away from you that quickly she probably found Fredrick right out from with the car and took off." With that Constance unzipped the clutch that she had around her wrist and pulled out her cell phone. She knew better than to call her daughter directly. She knew that Maura would have figured out by now that she had been the one to tip off Jane about her location and was mostly likely pretty upset with her about it. Instead she dialed the man with Maura who knew that he always had to answer her calls.

She turned her back to Jane once she heard the phone on the other end start to ring. "Fredrick," she said when she picked up the phone, "do you have my daughter with you.

"Yes ma'am," he responded.

"Good, now just respond with yes or no answers to the following questions if you please. She's upset?"

"Yes."

"Are you taking her back to the hotel?"

"Yes."

"You aren't making any other stops along the way?"

"No."

"Okay, that will do Fredrick. I am having someone meet her there so make sure that she doesn't deviate from going back to the hotel and don't tell her I'm sending someone to see her."

"Yes ma'am."

"Thank you Fredrick for being there for my daughter. I will see you back here when the installation is over this evening."

"My pleasure. I will see you then and have a great evening ma'am," Constance heard him reply before she clicked the end button on her phone. She slid the phone back into her clutch and zipped it back up. She then turned to face Jane.

"You seem to be in luck this time. She decided to return to the hotel rather than run away like two days ago. She should be arriving shortly. As I'm sure you heard, I told Fredrick to make sure she didn't go anywhere but to the hotel since she was already in route there."

"Which means Maura is where exactly?" Jane asked.

Constance chuckled a little at her question. "My dear, for a detective of your standing, you can be a little… How do they say it? ... Slow on the uptake. The reason I set you up with a room when you got here was so that you would be in the same hotel as Maura and myself.

"It does happen to be a busy weekend for them so I couldn't get you a room on the same floor as Maura and I, but I did manage to persuade the management at the Chandler hotel to make sure you had a room. I have a few old connections there which is why it's always where I stay if I'm going to be in town."

"I have been floors away from Maura since I got here last night and you're only just now telling me this?" She asked sound a little hysterical.

"Answer me this," Constance replied. "If you had known last night that she were there would you have tried to go talk to her then instead of waiting until tonight?"

Jane only stood there looking at her.

"That's why I didn't tell you. Yesterday would not have been a good time to try and see her, nor would earlier today. You've been around her and seen her through hard times before. She has to have time to try and process when things affect her like this did. She pulled herself together for the opening tonight and I had hoped that she would stay here and talk to you or you two would agree to talk and go somewhere else, but it seems as though she still might not have been ready.

"Honestly Jane, I'm not entirely certain that I should let you try to see her tonight," Constance continued as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Now that you know of her whereabouts and that you are both staying the same hotel I doubt I could stop you from seeing her. You are the kind that would knock on every single door if that's what it took to find her room."

"You seem to know me quite well for someone I've only met on a couple of occasions," Jane replied.

"Well Maura does speak mostly of you when she calls to talk. Who could blame her? You're a remarkable woman Jane Rizzoli. Honestly, if it were anyone but you trying to win her heart I might not have helped them at all."

Jane smiled a little and a light blush became noticeable on her cheeks. "Thank you, Mrs. I – Constance. It is Maura who is a remarkable woman. You may not be the woman who gave birth to her, but I know that a lot of who she is now is because of how she was raised. I know there may be things about how Maura grew up that you wish you had done differently, but it's now you raised her that made her the remarkable woman that she is today. I am so honored to have her in my life and I don't know what I'd do without her," she finished with tears brimming in her eyes.

"Thank you, Jane," Constance replied; a genuine smile making its way onto her face.

Jane cleared her throat before continuing, "Now if you don't mind, I think I'll go try to find Maura and see if I can get her to talk to me."

"She's in room 1528. Good luck. Call me if you can't get her to see you. I will come down there and reason with her."

"Thank you, for everything," Jane replied.

As she turned to walk off Jane heard her call out once more, "Oh Jane, you may want to check the bar before you head up to her room. I think sitting in the bar at the hotel reminds her of you a little."

Jane nodded her head at Constance's statement to let her know she heard and understood, and then she turned once again to make her way back to the front of the gallery. She had her girl to find.

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**Thanks for reading! As always, I'd love to know what you think. **


	8. Chapter 8 - Ready or Not

**AN: So, this is the chapter you've all be waiting to read. I think. I guess you'll tell me once you read it. It took me a while to get this out because I actually had it started and going in a completely different direction and once day scrapped the whole thing and started over. So without out further delay, read on. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 8: Ready or Not**

"Maura," Jane called as her knuckles rapped on the door of 1528. "It's me, please open the door." She stood there for a moment waiting, but it seemed her knock would go unanswered. "Come on Maur," she said as she knocked a little louder on the door this time. She didn't think Maura would react to her showing up in New York quite like this.

Jane decided to take off her heels. She had wanted to go back to her room and change, but she didn't want to take the chance that Maura would try to leave the hotel before she could get to her. It looked like she was going to have to get tough, so she picked up her heels with one hand and balled the other into a fist. This time she pounded on the door. "Maura! Open this door. I know you're in there! I will cause a scene out here in this hallway if that's what you'd prefer. Or I can call your mother and have her get someone to let me in. It's up to you."

One of the threats, although she wasn't sure which one at the moment, worked because within a couple of seconds she could hear movement from the other side of the door. It took a couple of minutes, but she finally heard footsteps' coming nearer before the door was flung open. As quickly as the form had appeared in the door when it was flung open it began to disappear. Maura made no invitation for her to come in either; obviously she was expected to just follow.

Follow Jane did. She could see that this room was a suite. It had a separate bedroom or two that were somewhere off of the living room she was now standing in. Maura sat before her on a sofa, nearly empty glass of something in hand; while a few partial bottles of different liquor sat nearby. That was the reason she didn't see her in the bar when she came, Maura didn't need the bar downstairs when she seemed to already have one in her room. She decided it best to stand near a chair which was positioned a few feet from the end of the sofa where Maura was seated.

"I see my mother told you where to find me," Maura said looking up at her from the sofa. She appeared almost smug as she said the words.

"Well it was nice of her. Especially since the woman who is my best friend just up and left one night without telling anyone where she was going and cutting off her phone so no one could get a hold of her," Jane responded with a little venom seeping into the words. She might love Maura more than anyone, but it did upset her that Maura would just run the way she did and that was coming through in her words.

"What do you want Jane?" she asked, her tone more harsh than Jane had ever heard before.

"Gee, I don't know Maur, an explanation would be nice." Jane was trying to keep her cool, but despite the fact that she kept telling herself not to get angry she couldn't help it; her defense mechanism of being sarcastic was starting to shine. "I came so I could talk to you, and you turn around and run on me again."

"I gave you an explanation. I left the letter. If I had wanted to talk to you I would have done so in person and if I had wanted you to find me I would have left it for you in the letter."

"That's all you have to say?" She asked now starting to pace back and forth across the room. "You wrote a letter telling me that you're in love with me and then walk out of the lives of everyone in Boston who cares about you and all you can say is that the letter explains it all!" Jane said, now on the verge of outright yelling at the woman across the room from her who still somehow appeared calm, cool, and collected.

Maura just looked at her and sipped from the glass in her hand. "What did you hope to gain by coming?" she asked; the tone of her voice showing that she was truly curious.

Jane let out a breath that was somewhere between a sigh and a laugh. "I don't know. I'm not sure that I came specifically to gain anything. I came because I wanted to tell you that you didn't have to leave." She paused a moment before continuing. "You could have stayed in Boston."

"Ha," Maura tittered and then took a swig from her glass finishing it off. "You wouldn't have wanted me to stay in Boston."

"Who are you and what have you done with the Maura Isles who is my best friend? Because to me it sounds like you just guessed what I might want and the Maura I know and love doesn't guess."

"I wasn't guessing," Maura said sternly. "It was a hypothesis that my straight best friend wouldn't want her bisexual best friend around her after she found out that she was in love with her." Maura leaned forward and picked up one of the bottles sitting on the coffee table in front of her. She quickly unscrewed the cap and poured herself three fingers of amber whiskey.

Jane slowly made her way back across the room from where she had stopped her pacing a few minutes before. She took a seat on the other end of the sofa from Maura and turned to face her. "Maura," she said, "I always want you around. That is one thing that will never change."

Maura rolled her eyes and raised the glass to her lips once more. After she'd taken a drink she responded, "And what about after you're married? You wouldn't want me around. You wouldn't want me around at the wedding either. It would be hard to explain why your best friend would have an objection when the minister asks if there are any."

Jane eyebrows knitted together in confusion. Her wedding? Marrying anyone right now was the last thing on her mind at this point in time. "Wait," Jane said. "You're moving a little fast there don't you think. Why would you bring up the topic of a wedding or marriage?"

Jane watched as Maura seemed to freeze when she asked the question. A slightly sheepish look came over Maura's face and Jane knew that there was something else going on that Maura had been keeping from her. "Maur, what is going on?"

Maura leaned forward and placed her glass down on the coffee table. She then leaned back into the couch and crossed her arms over her chest before she responded. "It's nothing you need to concern yourself with, Jane."

She wasn't about to let Maura get away that easy. Not when she'd become defensive about it the way she had. "No," she responded defiantly, "I think it is everything to concern myself with." Maura started to shake her head. "Don't do that, Maur. Whatever you haven't told me had some part in why you left other than the fact that you're in love with me, didn't it?"

Maura's head nodded slightly. "I just want you to be happy and I don't want to stand in the way of that." There was a quiver in her voice and Jane could tell that she was on the verge of tears.

"Hey," she spoke soothingly. "Maura, why do you think you would stand in the way of my happiness, and how would you leaving Boston ensure that I would be happy?"

"Because I wouldn't be able to stand by and watch you plan a wedding with someone else. It would hurt too much. If by some chance I did make it through without telling you how I felt I wouldn't make it past the wedding day without telling you. Call me a hopeless romantic or something, but I would have to stand up and say in front of everyone that I objected when the minister asked. It would take away from you being happy and I don't want to do that to you," she said sadly as one hand moved to her eyes to wipe away some tears that had formed in the corner of one.

Jane scooted closer to Maura on the couch and smiled, "I think movie night has worn off on you. I didn't know that you even knew there was such a thing as a hopeless romantic."

"I read, Jane, I always have you know that. There are plenty…"

"Wait a sec," Jane interrupted her. "I wasn't finished." She was confused once again. What was with all the wedding stiff Maura had mentioned tonight? She took hold of Maura's hand and rubbed her knuckles with her thumb. "I think I'm still a bit confused. You keep talking about a wedding like it's something that's happening in the near future. What is going on?"

Maura pulled her bottom lip in between her teeth. "She hadn't actually meant to tell Jane about this, but she was nearing the point of lying if she didn't say something and she didn't want to end up with hives or to go vasovagal at the moment. "I think it is something that could be in the near future for you."

"What?" Jane asked, now more confused than ever.

Maura looked down at the floor. There was no way that she could look Jane in the eye as she told her what had occurred in the past week. "A few days ago I received an email… From Casey. I'm not exactly sure how he got my address, but I was confused a little bit curious as to why I would get an email from him so I opened it. He said he needed my help. He said he's been thinking about proposing to you for a while now. He's coming home soon and he thought this would be a good time. The only thing is he wasn't sure what kind of ring you would like. He thought that since I was your best friend I would know which style you would like better and he asked me to pick one from a select number of photos of rings that he attached to the email."

Maura removed her hand from Jane's and reached over to the coffee table and picked up the glass she had set there earlier. She leaned over resting her elbows on her knees. She held the glass in her hand but lightly swished the remaining amber liquid in the bottom around. "I realized then I couldn't do it. I couldn't stay. You have this relationship and it's moving forward to the next step which is great. It's a happy time for you and I didn't want to mess that up and I would have if I had stayed. I'm sorry I had to leave that way, but I honestly thought that it would be the best for both of us."

"Maura," Jane started before pausing to take a breath. This was it. Ready or not. She was going to have to tell Maura. It hurt to think that Maura had been putting herself in this much misery thinking that she would somehow cause to be unhappy. Jane cleared her throat and continued, "Maura, the only time you've caused me to be unhappy was when I arrived at your house two nights ago to find it empty with a Dear Jane note left on the kitchen counter."

"Look at me, please?" She requested of Maura as she reached over and tucked a strand of hair behind Maura's ear. She waited patiently until Maura had complied before she continued, "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

Maura looked at her quizzically and there was no need for her to audibly ask the question of what it was she could possibly be sorry for. "I don't love Casey and I didn't realize he thought we were in a place where he thought we might be ready for marriage. You should not have had to help him pick out an engagement ring for me. I should have told him a long time ago that it was over. I meant to before he left this last time, but I chickened out and didn't."

"There's something else. I need to tell you something, something important, but I don't…" she tapered off. Jane didn't quite know how to phrase this. Of all the scenarios she had come up with on the trip here none of this had even come close to how she thought it might turn out. Plus she was worried now. Maura had run from her, twice. What would stop her from taking off again when she heard what she had to say? "I need you to promise me you won't run. I don't know what I would do if you left again," her voice started to crack at the end of her sentence.

For the first time that night Maura reached out to her. She took one of Jane's hands between both of her own. She lightly ran her hands over Jane's one, feeling the raised, knotted scar on each side that told Jane's tale of survival and strength. "I promise," she said so faintly it might as well have been a whisper.

"I wish you had told me in person how you felt. I feel like now no matter what I say you're going to think that I'm just saying it so you'll come back." Jane squeezed one of Maura's hands that was holding hers before she continued. "I didn't know that you felt that way about me, or women at all. If I had I would have told you a long time ago that I'm in love with you." She heard Maura's sharp intake of a breath and felt her body stiffen.

"I love you Maura Dorothea Isles. I have for a long time, but like you, I thought it was something that I had to work through on my own because there was no way that you could ever feel the same about me. I think a part of me knew deep down that I loved you when I shot myself, but I tried shrugging it off and going on. Then Hoyt had us that day at the prison and I knew there was no way I could let him do anything to you."

Jane reached over and lightly touched the edge of the faint scar on Maura's neck that matched hers. It was so light now that most people would hardly notice it unless they knew where to look. There were times now when she still felt guilty that Hoyt had ever gotten that close to Maura, but it happened less often these days.

"I was scared to death that I'd lose you that day. And when I didn't, I wanted nothing more than to grab on to you and never let go. I am so sorry it took us both this long to be able to tell each other, but I hope you'll be willing to give us a chance."

Maura said nothing about what Jane had just confessed. She sat still, frozen there on the couch, looking as though she were staring at something a great distance off. "Maura," Jane spoke to her to try and get her attention. No response. "Maura," she tried once more; this time placing her hand on Maura's shoulder to try and get her to snap out of it.

Snap out of it she did. In an instant, almost as though someone had slapped her across the face. Maura turned to look at Jane with a look of fear and confusion in her eyes. In the next instant Maura was off the couch and gone, grabbing her drink glass, putting distance between them once again.

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**Thank you all for reading! As always I'd love to hear from you on what you think! **


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Okay, so maybe the last chapter wasn't exactly the chapter you've all been waiting for, but at least the girls were in the same room, right? Just one step at a time. They'll get there. I think. **

**Thank you all so much for all the faves, follows, and reviews. It always makes my day to get any of those for a story. Also I'm not sure when the next update will happen. We've caught up to what I have written with this chapter, but I'm working as fast as I can at getting the next one done and getting ahead. **

**To lingonberry24: I guess you could say I'm a Lady A fan. Along with Sarah Bareilles, Blake Shelton, The Beatles, Bridgit Mendler, Gloriana, etc. (If there's a title along with the chapter number it's the name of a song that helped me to write the chapter.)I'm a music fan in general. If it's a good song I like it, but Lady A does rank higher up there in my list of preferred artists. **

**To Tina: Never fear, that is not how the story ends. I'm pretty sure I'd have some people here trying to hunt me down with pitchforks or something if I ended it that way. (LOL) My readers did beg me to continue on after the first chapter which I had planned as a one shot and I can't let y'all down. **

**Now let's find out where Maura went, shall we? Enjoy!**

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Jane turned and looked behind her. Maura kept her promise, and though she'd put distance between them it was only the distance between the back of the sofa they'd been sitting on and the windows of the room which faced out over the city. She just stood there at the windows looking out and Jane didn't know what to say or do.

More than anything Jane longed to take Maura into her arms and just hold her. She had never been one for physical contact or signs of affection and it became worse after Hoyt had scarred her hands, but Maura had always been an exception. Even when she'd been in relationships she hated the way the guy would try to slip his arm around her waist or hold her hand, but she had found herself hoping many times that Maura would just take her by the hand as they walked together.

After a few moments of silence Jane couldn't stand it any longer. She stood from her seat at the sofa and made her way to stand behind Maura at the window. Jane was momentarily stunned by the site in front of her. The cityscape that the room looked out to was quite beautiful; though it didn't hold a candle to the face of the woman standing just in front of her.

"Maur," Jane said gently. At the sound of her name so close behind her Maura let out a choked sob. It was then Jane looked into Maura's reflection in the window and noticed the tears streaming down her face.

Seeing the tears falling from Maura hurt her deeply, but she wanted to remain strong. However, looking at Maura crying made her own eyes well with tears and a lump formed in her throat. She took in a deep breath trying to will herself not to let them fall, but her resolve quickly broke and they started to escape and fall down her cheeks.

Maura turned to look at Jane. Somewhere along the way Jane had unconsciously opened her arms as though preparing for them to hug. Upon seeing her tears and her arms open, Maura couldn't help herself. She fell into Jane embrace. Neither of them spoke; they didn't need to. They just stood there with the tears streaming down both of their faces, holding on to each other as though the other was their only lifeline in a raging storm.

They stood there for an unknown amount of time. At some point they both ran out of tears, but they still couldn't seem to let the other one go. Finally, Maura pulled back slightly from their embrace so she could look at Jane. "I'm sorry," she whispered. Her voice was rough and cracked a little as she spoke.

"Shhhh…" Jane soothed her. "Don't say it right now," She whispered back as she pulled Maura back into her. "We'll have plenty of time to talk later."

"No, Jane I think we should talk about it now," Maura persisted. This time she pulled completely away from Jane. They both felt cold from the gap that was now between them. "I'm sorry," Maura apologized once again. Her gaze shifted so it was on the floor and her focus somewhere in the space between their feet. "I shouldn't have done that to you. It was childish of me to do that to you. In the heat of the moment I wasn't thinking clearly and I made a mistake."

"Hey," Jane said quietly. She took her index finger and placed it under Maura's chin and gently nudged it so she could get Maura to look up at her. "That might be the case, but it's not completely on you. I made mistakes too and that's why we're here right now. The important thing is that now what we both had to say to each other is out in the open and should we choose we can move forward."

"You really want to give me another chance?" Maura questioned hesitantly.

Jane couldn't help but smile a little out of amazement. She knew that Maura always had doubts caused from her childhood of growing up alienated by other children, but she had hoped Maura wouldn't doubt her on this. "Maura, I came here for you, because I want you. I was prepared to head across the world to get to you when I called your mother and begged her to tell me where you were. There isn't anywhere I wouldn't have gone so I could tell you how I feel about you and to tell you that I want to be with you, only you."

Though both Maura and Jane had just cried until they felt they could cry no more a tear rolled down Maura's cheek at Jane's words to her. She was somewhat baffled by the fact that she had found someone like Jane; so willing to love her exactly as she was rather than trying to change her to make her fit in better with the world.

It was hard for her to believe that she had completely walked away from someone so amazing. She would have understood if Jane had never wanted to see her again. Honestly she didn't deserve someone as amazing as Jane in her life, let alone loving her.

Jane took a couple of steps and once again they were in close proximity of each other. She reached up and wiped away the tears that were slowly rolling down Maura's cheek. "I am so sorry Maur. Hurting you any at all is something I never wanted to do. I thought that if I kept my feelings to myself I wouldn't ever hurt you and instead I made it that much worse."

"No, Jane, it's alright," Maura replied as she reached up to cover Jane's hand that was still on her cheek after wiping the tears away. "As we both have said, we didn't know that the other could possibly have felt the same way. If we keep thinking like that we are going to keep feeling guilty for hurting the other person. You said earlier that you hoped I'd be willing to give us a chance. I want to give us that chance," she finished as she smiled up at Jane.

For what felt like the first time in ages Jane saw the smile light up Maura's eyes. She loved it when she smiled like that. She couldn't help but smile too. She was thrilled that she could say that she had Maura back in her life. Everything seemed so right. "Go out with me," she blurted out as a statement nowhere even close to it being a question as she might have intended it to be if it hadn't just slipped out as it had.

Maura's eyebrows knitted together in confusion of what she'd just heard come out of Jane's mouth. "What?" she questioned her.

"I… uh, um…" Jane stammered with her mouth partially hanging open. She stood there for a few more seconds with her mouth moving but nothing coming out before she shut it, and took some time to gather what she wanted to say. "I did not mean to blurt that out like that," she finally managed to get out. "Since we are going to give us a chance I thought it would be good for us to take a step in that direction and go out on a date. So, Maura, would you do me the honor of going out with me?" she asked.

To Jane's embarrassment Maura started to giggle. She felt a blush work its way up her neck and on to her cheeks. It was her turn to be confused and her eyebrows drew up in a confused state.

At the look of confusion from Jane Maura settled down a little bit. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean anything negative from that. It's just that you are very cute when you're bumfuzzled."

Still Jane looked at her confusedly. "The word bumfuzzle is a verb and defined as to confuse or fluster. The word is chiefly used in the South Midland and Southern United States. You know me, always expanding my vocabulary. I like to use it from time to time. It bumfuzzles some people and it can be fun to watch their reactions to it. Plus you have to admit that you were quite flustered earlier when you blurted out for me to go out with you, so my use of the word was correct for the situation."

It was Jane's turn to laugh and it caused Maura to stop the rambling that she'd been doing. "I love it when you start to ramble like that. Don't ever change that. Yes I'd say you were correct with your choice verb for that occasion so that I could be bumfuzzled not once, but twice, within a matter of a few seconds."

"Well, you have your ways that you like to have fun and I have mine," Maura replied.

After a couple of moments she remembered that they still had something unresolved. "Yes," she stated firmly. "The answer to your question is yes. I'd love to go out with you Jane."

"Okay," she said while smiling. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then," she stated as she leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on the top of Maura's head.

Maura nodded in agreement with that statement and proceeded to walk Jane to the door of her hotel room. She knew that things weren't completely fixed or perfect between them, but Jane had been right. Things were out in the open between them now and they had the chance to move forward and that was exactly what she wanted to do.

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**So was this the chapter you've all been waiting for? Yes, no, you don't know yet because you don't know where the story will go? You know I'm gonna say it. I've said it like every chapter now. Thanks for reading! And as always I would love to know what you think!**


	10. Chapter 10 - Good Night

**I hit over 200 followers for this story! I never thought that would happen with a story of mine, so thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. Y'all are amazing. Also never expected to be getting as close to 100 reviews as I have either. **

**Ok, so last chapter wasn't quite what some of you wanted either. Let's try this chapter. I also went a little crazy with this chapter. It's over 7,000 words not including my AN's; which officially makes it the longest chapter I've ever written (by a long shot) and it's nearly as long as my whole first ever multi-chapter fic Lost in Boston. ****But there was no way I was going to break it down into parts and keep y'all guessing or waiting around to find out what would happen. Anyway, back to the story. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 10: Good Night**

Jane awoke with a start. She sat up in bed trying to figure out what was going on and why she'd suddenly awoken from the deep sleep she had been in. Then she heard it. There was a knocking at her door. She crawled out of the bed. She stepped onto the floor and stretched her body out. She heard the knocking again.

"I'll be right there!" She hollered a little louder than she'd meant. It was irritating that someone would be at her door this early in the morning. After she had left Maura's room she could hardly get to sleep. The fact that she had finally told Maura how she felt and to know that Maura really did love her in the same still felt like a dream that she was sure to wake up from at any moment.

Jane ran her fingers through her hair on her way to the door, hoping that at least a few of the wild tangles she knew were there would be tamed enough for her to be presentable for whoever was at her door. She grabbed the handle, unlocked the locks and cautiously opened the door. She squinted for a moment as her eyes tried to adjust to the brightness of the hallway. She couldn't help but smile at the sight before her.

"Hey," she whispered as she shifted to lean on the door. "What are you doing here? I thought I was supposed to come pick you up later tonight?"

"That is still the plan." Maura stated.

Jane couldn't help but graze her eyes over Maura from head to toe. For whatever reason Maura had decided to do her hair and make-up before leaving her room a few floors above, but she still had her silk pajamas and a robe on. Jane wasn't sure she'd ever seen her looking any cuter than she did at this moment.

"I... I thought…," Maura started to say; pulling Jane from her thoughts of just how cute she was in what she was wearing.

"I suppose…," she started again and then stopped.

"What?" Jane asked, starting to get a little bit worried.

Maura blushed slightly and shook her head. "It's crazy and stupid I guess. I suppose I needed to see for myself that everything that happened last night was real and not something I had dreamed up while intoxicated."

"Awe, Maur, come here," Jane said opening the door wider and holding out her arm for Maura to step in for a hug. "Of course it was real," she said as she wrapped her other arm around Maura. "And it's not crazy or stupid for you to feel that way. I took you by surprise last night in a lot of ways. It would be strange for anyone. When I woke up, before I opened that door, I was wondering myself if it had all really happened or if it was something I had dreamed up too. You're not the only one having a hard time dealing with the reality of this. It's going to be okay though, because we can work on it and through it together. Okay?"

Maura stepped out of their embrace and nodded her head at Jane. "So, what's with this look you have going on?" Jane couldn't help but ask.

Maura looked down at herself and smiled before she crossed her arms over her chest. "Oh, I am meeting mother for brunch in about an hour. I was trying to decide what to wear and my mind kept trying to tell me that I had made everything about last night up and that you weren't actually here in New York and we didn't have a date tonight. So, I decided to come down for myself and find out if what I thought had happened was real or not."

"I'm glad you did," Jane replied.

"As am I," Maura responded in turn. It seemed as though she were going to turn to leave, but she hesitated and instead asked, "Do you want to come to brunch with me?"

"Hmm," Jane mused. "Brunch with you and your mother sounds nice, but I think I should leave you two to have some time together. Plus I have a few things I need to look into and then I need to get ready for our date this evening."

"Awe," Maura said while frowning and making a pouting face. "I thought you'd want to come say hello to my mother."

The face Maura was making was the most adorable one Jane had ever seen. It almost made her give in and go to the brunch with Maura. Almost. "I saw your mother last night and we had a rather long, heartfelt conversation together the other day. I think you should go spend time with her while she's still here. I'll see her some other time."

"Alright," Maura said sighing. "I'll see you later."

"Definitely. I'm looking forward to it," Jane replied. She leaned in and kissed Maura on the forehead at her hairline. With that she watched Maura turn and walk down the hall towards the elevator that would take her back to her own floor.

Jane closed the door to her room after watching Maura safely make it to the bank of elevators at the end of the hall. She turned made her way back to the bed and looked at the clock on the bedside table. She needed to get moving if she was going to get everything ready for their date tonight.

"Ah, darling, there you are," Constance said standing up from the table to greet her daughter.

"Morning mother, sorry I'm a little late," Maura apologized as she stepped into her mothers embrace. Her mother also kissed her on both cheeks, which she returned, before she took her seat.

"How are you this morning?" Constance asked as she took her seat and replaced her napkin in her lap.

Maura copied her mother's motions as she took her own seat at the table. "You're not mad at me for what has taken place?"

Maura looked past her mother for a moment at everything that was going on around them in the restaurant. She was trying to figure out just what to say to her mother about what had happened. She knew the best option was the truth. "I was upset at first, as you can imagine. I'm sure you have it figured out that I left the opening last night for that reason. However, Jane and I have since talked and worked a few things out. More than anything, I need to say thank you. I made one of the biggest mistakes of my life and without you I wouldn't have had the slightest hope of resolving it or correcting it; at least so soon. Thank you, Mom, for everything you've done." She smiled during the last sentence.

She wasn't sure she had ever used the word Mom when she's spoken to or spoken of Constance Isles. She wasn't the type you generally thought of as a "Mom," but in that moment she realized that it took a Mom to know what her child needed in a moment and make sure they got it, even if the child was stubborn and refused at first.

Maura looked over at her mother and could see tears glistening in her eyes. "I think that's the first time you've ever used the word mom. Apart from when you were very young. Once your vocabulary started expanding you always used mother," Constance explained.

Constance reached over and took Maura's hand in hers and squeezed it gently. "I always wanted what was best for you," Constance said. Her voice was filled with sadness. "What I sometimes missed was that what I thought was best, probably wasn't really the right thing for you. If I could go back and change those things I would, but I can't. Instead I decided to try and do what I thought would be right for you, and one of those things was to tell Jane where you were so she had the chance to tell you she loved you too."

"I know," Maura said, nodding her head. "I'll say it again. Thank you. It was exactly the right thing for me in this case and I wouldn't change the way it happened."

Their moment was broken when a waiter came over to their table carrying mimosas that went along with their brunch. They paused their conversation as he approached the table. They quickly glanced at the menus as more of a formality than anything. They had dined here for brunch several times before and knew what they wanted. Once they gave their order to their waiter they waited for him to leave the table before they resumed their conversation.

"So, what is going to happen now, if you don't mind my asking?" Constance questioned her.

"I'm not entirely sure." Maura offered. "We didn't go into much detail last night other than deciding to give each other a second chance and to try and move forward from here as best we can."

"Oh, we are going out on a date tonight," Maura added in, almost as an afterthought.

"That's a big step," Constance commented.

"I suppose it is, but I think that's where we're at currently. We know each other, we've known each other for years, so it seemed logical to us both that going out with each other to see what dating would be like is the next step."

"Well then it sounds like you two are already on the right track," Constance said as she gave Maura a sincere smile to let her know how happy she was for both of them.

Jane stood in front of the door for room 1528. She couldn't believe she was about to take the most beautiful woman in the world out on a date. She briefly thought that she should pinch herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming, but she decided it wasn't a dream as her knuckles tapped on the wood of the door.

A few moments later the door opened and Jane couldn't help the smile that lit up her face as she got a look at Maura for the first time that evening. Now she really was wondering if she needed to pinch herself. Maura looked stunning. She stood before Jane in a very deep burgundy pencil dress with a black lace looking print over the top. Jane didn't quite know how to describe accurately. Her eyes traveled down the dress. Though the dress stopped about mid-thigh Jane continued the path down Maura's legs and looked at the shoes on her feet. They had to be at least four inch heels, if not pushing five. She was suddenly glad that she had decided against taking them anywhere where excessive walking would be necessary. Though she did think that it could possibly cause problems for later on in their date, but she'd play it by ear in that case.

"Wow," Jane managed to get out as she looked up to see Maura smiling at her. The smile lit up Maura's eyes and she was ecstatic to see it there.

"Wow yourself," Maura returned the compliment. "You look amazing."

Jane's face flushed at the compliment. She had hoped she would look presentable for Maura this evening. She had come here with the dress she had worn the night before to the opening and a few other casual clothes. She hadn't been prepared to have to go out on a date, so this morning she went shopping to find a nice pantsuit she could wear this evening. Apparently Maura quite liked the black one she had picked out with the deep red button up she'd gotten to wear with it.

"You look stunning," She finally managed in return. If it was possible for her to do so Maura smiled even wider at her with the compliment.

"Come in for just a second," Maura requested after a few more moments of them appraising each other with their eyes. "I still need to put my earrings in."

Jane followed Maura into the hotel suite. She took a seat in the chair she had stood beside the night before when they had been talking, she knew that it would take Maura a few minutes to pick out which ones would work perfectly with the dress she had on. She wasn't worried though, as of right now they still had plenty of time to make their dinner reservations.

A few moments later Maura returned from her room ready to go. Jane noticed that she now had small black diamond earrings and held on to a black clutch she would take out for the evening. Jane was still having a hard time believing this was all actually real.

They left the suite and walked straight down the hall to the elevator. Jane pushed the button to call the car so they could make their way out of the hotel. Suddenly when in the elevator neither one of them knew what to say to the other so they rode down the elevator in somewhat of an awkward silence.

They reached the lobby and Jane offered her arm for Maura to slide her arm into as they crossed through it and out the front doors to the street. Jane knew that Maura would have gladly gotten into a dirty New York cab if she had requested it, but she wanted this to be an amazing evening for the both of them. So to surprise Maura she had called Constance earlier in the day to ask for a recommendation about getting a town car for the evening.

Constance told her that she would do one better and offered to let them have the use of Fredrick and the town car for the evening. After the opening last night she had decided that she just wanted to spend a quiet evening in her hotel suite, so she wouldn't be needing it. Jane thanked her profusely for everything she had done for both herself and Maura.

Maura halted when she realized that Fredrick was waiting at the curb to pick them up. "Jane, you didn't have to…"

"No, I supposed it didn't," Jane cut her off midsentence. "However, I spoke to your mother and she insisted that we take the car this evening so I agreed."

"And here I was hoping to find out where we were going this evening when we got into the back of a cab and you had to tell the driver," Maura said as Jane helped her into the car.

"Sorry to disappoint," Jane said as she got in next to Maura, "I guess you'll just have to watch the scenery or wait until we get there to find out.

Fredrick pulled away from the curb and Jane realized that it suddenly felt so real. She and Maura were out on a date together, and she couldn't be happier about it. A couple of minutes into their ride Jane realized Maura seemed to have taken it as a personal challenge to try and figure out where they were going.

Maura was looking out at the windows as the city passed by, calculating the possibilities of where they could be going based on the streets they passed. Jane didn't necessarily mind if Maura knew where they were going, but she found it rather fun to keep Maura in the dark. So, to try and distract her Jane started talking about the opening from the night before, hoping it would pull her mind away from their trip and on to what the show had been about.

Maura got into talking about the show and how some of the pieces were inspired by other famous artists. Jane listened to everything she had to say. She wasn't sure that she would remember all of it, but she listened trying to soak up as much of the information as possible. Her planned seemed to work until they were just a couple of minutes from their destination.

"We're going to the pier?" Maura asked suddenly; cutting off the last description she'd been giving on one of the pieces of art.

"Uh huh," Jane replied grinning at Maura. "That is our destination for now."

Maura looked slightly taken aback that they were out here so she thought it best to explain. "It's not often that I have the chance to come to New York. I know you've been here many times and I wasn't sure what all you had done and seen, but I thought it might be nice to take in a few of the sites. So I decided we could do that and have dinner all at the same time."

Fredrick pulled up to the pier and stopped the car so they could get out. Jane opened the door and got out of the car before he could come back and help. She offered Maura a helping hand out of the car and then closed the door as well.

"I thought the best way to take in the sites and have dinner all at the same time would be a dinner cruise," Jane continued to explain and she and Maura made their way down the pier. "We are going to board that yacht right over there with some other people, watch the sun set, see many of the top New York landmarks, listen to a live band that will be performing on deck this evening, all while dining on a four course dinner."

"You planned all this for us?" Maura asked her amazed by the effort Jane had gone to.

"I wouldn't say I planned it. I just researched fun things to do in New York at night and found this option and then bought the tickets," Jane said a bit sheepishly.

"No, Jane, it's perfect," Maura insisted, "and very sweet. It's romantic too."

"Well, I wanted for us to do something unique for our first date and I thought that this might fit that category."

Maura nodded her agreement of Jane's statement.

Shortly before sunset the yacht took off from the pier and started out and they viewed the surrounding scenery from their private table by the window. Their server brought them their beverages and they were informed it would be about thirty minutes before dinner would be served to them. They decided to head up to the top deck so they could see the sunset from there.

"It's beautiful," Maura said as they stepped over to the railing of the yacht to look out over the skyline. "In all the time I've spent here in the past one thing I haven't done is to take a boat tour of the city and this goes well beyond a simple boat tour down the Hudson."

"I think it's even better than the reviews I read online told," Jane replied. She slid her hand in her pocket and reached to pull out a small rectangular object she'd brought with her. "The reviews also said that you shouldn't come without one of these, and I happened to have mine with me so I brought it along," she held it up showing Maura. "So, you wanna get some pics of the sunset and a few selfies in before we head back down for dinner?"

Maura smiled and nodded her head. They each took turns getting pictures of the sunset and of the other woman standing at the railing in front of the skyline with the sun going down.

"Come 'mere," Jane said after they'd taken several photos, "I want to get a couple of selfies of us and then we can head back to the table.

Jane and Maura stepped in close to each other and Jane stuck her arm out so she could capture both of them in the shot. She had snapped a couple of frames when a man approached them. "Would you like me to get a picture of you?" he asked.

"That would be great, thanks," Jane replied as she handed over her camera to him.

"Smile," he said a few seconds before he hit the shutter button and snapped the picture. "Ok, how about one more just for good measure." This time Jane stepped in closer to Maura and slid her arm around Maura's back. She wanted one photo that they might look back on in a few years and have it look like they were out together instead of just two friends enjoying dinner out.

The man once again called for them to smile and snapped a picture. He stepped closer to them to return Jane's camera to her and asked them, "How long have you been together?"

They were both a little taken aback with his question. They knew they wanted to be together, but they hadn't really thought about what it would mean as to telling others about being together. Maura not being able to lie, didn't help matters much when she replied, "This is our first date."

"Really," the man questioned. "It just seems like you've been together for years with how comfortable you are around one another."

They both grinned a little sheepishly and turned a little pink at the compliment. They thanked him for taking their picture for them and decided it was time to head back to the table for dinner.

Their four course meal was amazing. They kept up a light conversation while they ate, but mainly they listened to the live band performing softly during dinner as they also watched the landmarks of New York go past their window. Every so often Maura would have to tell her an interesting fact she knew about some of the buildings they were passing.

They continued to sit at their table once everything had been cleared. Shortly after dinner most of the parties around them had left to go listen to the band play on the upper deck and see New York lit up at night. They continued to sit and enjoy the others company in silence.

After mulling it over in her thoughts for some time Jane asked, "Where are we going to go from here?"

"I do believe that we are about to head towards the Brooklyn Bridge," Maura responded.

"No," Jane said quietly. "I don't mean where the boat is going to go. I do already know that since I planned dinner. I mean you and me as a couple. Where are we going to go from here?"

"I'm not sure Jane," Maura returned so quietly Jane had a hard time hearing the words. "I know I love you and I want to be with you, but I'm just trying to enjoy the present and let it sink it that we are here together and not think about what's to come."

"Right," Jane said and cleared her throat before speaking again. "Well, I think we are about to head under the Brooklyn Bridge and soon we'll be heading back out and around by The Statue of Liberty. Everyone says it's something to see lit up at night, so why don't we get up there to watch."

Jane stood from her chair and waited on Maura to do the same before they made their way to the upper deck once again to marvel in the city and landmarks lit up at night. While she continued to enjoy her time with Maura that evening the things Maura had just said weighed heavily on her mind. She couldn't help but think about the future.

Just because they had been honest and said they loved each other and were trying didn't necessarily mean that Maura was going to come back to Boston. She didn't even know if Maura still even had a job there or not. She feared that if Maura had completely resigned from her position that there would really be no reason for Maura to return to Boston any time soon, which would mean that they would still end up apart for at least some amount of time.

"Thank you for an amazing dinner and evening," Maura said as they made their way up the pier to where Fredrick had the car waiting for them.

"You are quite welcome," Jane returned to her before letting on that there was more to this evening. "But, there is one more stop I had in mind for tonight. That is if you're up for it, it's going to require some time on those heels. "

"If it means more time out with you, I think I can handle it," Maura commented coyly. It was the first time either had really flirted or teased the other all night. They decided they liked it and were going to have to flirt with each other a little more.

"Well then, our chariot awaits," Jane said as they reached the car and she opened the door for Maura to get in.

Jane climbed in behind Maura and Fredrick began heading to their next stop once he knew they were settled.

"Do I get to hear where we are going this time?"

"Now why would I divulge a secret like that when I can just sit over here and wait for you to come up with a guess and see you get all flustered over the fact that you're guessing?" Jane replied flirting with Maura.

Jane's comment earned her a glare from Maura; one that she couldn't help but chuckle at. She had seen that look before when she'd teased Maura at crime scenes about making guesses. She loved that Maura still pulled it out on a date with her. "I will say that our ride from here will be a short one. That may help you narrow down the list of possible places."

"Not as much as you might think," Maura deadpanned. "Distance is relative, as well as time. The idea of a short ride is different for everyone. What may be short by my terms could in fact be much longer by yours. Therefore, I still can't narrow down with any certainty our end destination."

Jane rolled her eyes in the darkness of the car, but she couldn't help but smile at the little Maura rant. "Ah, when I say short I mean short. In fact it looks as though our stop is right ahead."

"Rockefeller Center," Maura stated.

"Yes."

The exited the car and made their way over to their entrance of the building. A man greeted them just inside the door. "Welcome ladies, to the Top of the Rock observation deck experience."

"Thank you," Jane said as she removed their tickets from her pocket and showed them to him.

"Well right this way then," he said he led them passed a small line of people directly to a bank of elevators where they joined a small group of people who were apparently waiting to get in an elevator to go to the observation decks.

"Why did he lead us here instead of to the line of other people waiting?"

"It's the tickets I purchased. They allow us to skip the line down here and get directly on an elevator to go to the decks," Jane explained.

"Oh."

"I take it then that this is something you've never done before on your visits to the city?"

"No," Maura replied. "But it has been on my list to do for quite some time, so after tonight I get to cross it off my list."

Jane raised her eyebrows curiously at Maura. "You have a list?"

"Oh, yes, quite a long one actually. Some might refer to it as a bucket list. I prefer to think of it as a to-do list. There are things ranging on it from simple things that I need to get done around the house to places I'd like to visit and things I'd like to do one day. This happens to be one of the things on my list."

"Hmm," Jane responded.

"What?" Maura queried, wondering what Jane was now thinking of her.

"Here I thought I knew just about everything there is to know about you, but you, Maura Isles, still have a few secrets up your sleeve." Jane leaned in close so that mouth was now right next to Maura's ear. She dropped her voice so it was a little huskier than normal and whispered, "I think I'm going to have to try and get a few more secrets out of you in the time to come."

Maura sucked in a small breath. If she knew it were at all possible she would have thought her heart had just skipped a beat. It did however start to beat a little faster and she could feel her face flush.

Jane stepped back. She had heard the breath Maura had sucked in with her words and she caught the light blush that had made it way to her cheeks as well. She smiled a little deviously, she liked that she could say something that would cause that kind of reaction.

"Right this way ladies and gentlemen," a worker said as a set of elevator doors opened that would now take them to the observation decks.

The ride up to the observation deck didn't take too long. What took the most amount of time was the point where they had to switch elevators at some point and were given the option during the switch to have their photo taken by the staff. At last, the final elevator door opened and they were able to step out.

They stepped out onto the floor and made way over to the outside deck. The view was amazing. "I hope you don't mind but I didn't book the tour. And it may be a good thing I didn't," Jane said looking down at Maura's shoes. "It's a 75 minute tour and you in those heels might not have been a good combination. I thought it would be more fun for us to simply walk around at our leisure and look at all the lights."

"Yes, I'd have to agree. I would rather walk around with just you," Maura replied linking her arm through Jane's so they could continue to stroll around the deck.

It was a clear night so they could see everything so clearly. Though it was dark they had a clear view of central park. Though most of it was dark they could see the lit areas of the park. It was stunning to see next to all of the surrounding buildings that were lit.

"It's beautiful up here. I think this is one of the best sights I've ever had of the city."

"Oh yeah, and what sight of the city would top this?" Jane wondered.

"The view from a helicopter," Maura responded. "It's a long story. I'll share it with you one day."

Jane was stunned for a moment. A view of the city from a helicopter would most definitely have to top this experience. Before she could say anything Maura started to walk them over to some of the displays that gave some information about the construction of the building. They sat through the short movies about the building as well. After that they strolled over to have a look at the Empire State Building.

"Now this was my main reason for coming here," Jane explained at they made their way to the glass at the edge of the deck to look.

"It does look magnificent lit up like that," Maura commented.

They both just stood there, taking in the building in front of them lit up in different colors. "The view from your room gave me idea of doing something like this," Jane said after a couple of silent minutes just taking in the view. "I thought that view was great, but I knew doing something like this would be something to remember for a lifetime. I wanted to have something from our time here that we could take away for a lifetime."

Is that all you wanted to take away for a lifetime?" Maura wanted to know.

"No. I had hoped there would be more, but earlier this evening you couldn't tell me what you wanted out of the future so I don't know what else to expect to take home," Jane responded. Her voice laced with pain as she spoke.

"We'll figure it out Jane," Maura responded. Her voice had hope in it, but Jane didn't know how much she had left.

Jane just nodded her head to Maura's statement as she continued to keep her gaze set along the skyline lit up with all of the buildings surrounding the one they were currently on. "Well, I think we should start making our way back, they'll be closing soon anyway."

The ride back to the hotel was mostly silent. Neither one really knew what to say to the other. Maura knew all Jane wanted to hear was that they were together and a couple and would be heading back to Boston that way. While Maura knew that was what she wanted deep down, she didn't know what to make of all this. It had happened in a whirlwind and she just needed some time to let everything slow down.

The car pulled up in front of the hotel a little after midnight. This time Jane allowed Fredrick to come around and open the door for them. Jane stepped out first and, as she had done all night, she helped Maura out of the car one last time.

"Thank you for driving us around this evening Fredrick," Maura thanked him as they started to step away from the car.

"My pleasure Miss Isles, I do hope you had an excellent evening," He returned as she shut the door of the car.

"Yes," Jane said to him stepping over and extending her hand, "Thank you for your help this evening. I appreciate you agreeing to do this since I know you should have had the night off."

"Not a problem Miss Rizzoli, I'm always happy to help out the Isles family," he said shaking her hand.

Maura was shocked that Jane had just shaken hands with Fredrick. She knew how much Jane hated to have other people touch her hands after Hoyt. But in that moment she was also proud that Jane had taken this small step towards conquering what bothered her.

Maura grabbed Jane's hand as they made their way into the lobby. Jane couldn't help smiling while thinking about all the times she'd wished for this moment to happen, but right now she found it hard to have Maura holding her hand. She wanted so much to know that having this date tonight would be the start of a lot of date nights ahead in their future. But if Maura had become unsure of their future together, she didn't know what she should think about it either.

The doors for the elevator slid open and they entered the car. Jane hit the button for Maura's floor. For the second time that evening their ride was filled with an uncomfortable, slightly awkward silence. It was at least a fairly short ride to Maura's floor because they didn't have to make any other stops.

They exited the elevator on the correct floor and made the short trip down the hall to Maura's door. Maura slid her key card into the lock. She turned the handle when the light went green and proceeded into her room. Jane halted at the doorway, deciding not to enter the room. After the things Maura had said tonight she had started to second guess herself with what she was doing here. She had thought it would be as easy as her coming here and telling Maura she felt the same way and then things would just fall into place. This evening reminded her that there was more to it than just loving each other.

"Jane?" Maura questioned when she realized that Jane wasn't following her into her room.

"Good night Maura," Jane said. "Thank you for an amazing evening."

"Why don't you come in for a night cap," Maura offered.

"No, I think I'll head back to my room. I'll call you in the morning and we can grab lunch or something."

"Sounds good," Maura said while nodding her head at Jane's statement. "I should be the one thanking you for such a wonderful evening, though. I had a marvelous time."

"Good night," Jane said once again as she leaned down and placed a kiss on Maura's cheek. She lingered there for a moment wanting to move her mouth to the left and place a kiss on Maura's lips, but she just couldn't bring herself to do so.

"Good night," Maura repeated the sentiment. Jane could hear the hurt and disappointment in the spoken words.

Jane turned to make her way back down the hallway towards the elevator. Maura slowly closed the door of her room.

Jane trudged slowly down the hallway. She knew she was being idiotic about all this. She should have taken Maura in her arms and kissed her, showing her that no matter what things would be alright with them. No matter where either of them had to go in the near future they would somehow work it all out. She was afraid though. She was afraid Maura had changed her mind about something and that was why she didn't want to talk about the future earlier. It was almost devastating to think that after all she had gone through to get to this point so she could tell Maura she loved her that Maura wouldn't want to be with her.

Jane finally made it to the elevator bank where she hit the down button and waited for the car arrived to take her to her floor. She stood there at the end of the hall pondering everything that had happened the last few days while she waited. The car finally arrived and she stepped inside and hit the button for her floor. All of a sudden the elevator seemed to want to take it's time with closing the doors and going anywhere. That was fine with her though. She thought again about how she should have grabbed Maura and kissed her, shown her that she had come all this way to be with her and wasn't going to give up, even if Maura was having doubts about this being together; that she wasn't scared about them. At that moment the elevator door started to slide closed. At the last second she stuck her arm out.

Maura had closed the door to her room slowly. She had watched Jane walk away from her door through the peephole. Though she knew Jane was gone she just couldn't tear herself away from the door. Everything was supposed to fall into place tonight. They were supposed to go out and have a wonderful time and then come back here where Jane would kiss her. She would push her up against the wall and kiss her like there was no one else in the world. Instead, the woman she loved more than anyone else was walking away from her. Why did she have to say the things she did about the future when Jane asked? Maybe she had thought about it too much and been too caught up in thinking that there would be too much for them to figure out instead of just trusting that they would make it work no matter what. She had messed up the greatest thing to happen to her before it even had a chance to really begin.

She looked through the peephole once more; as she did she heard footsteps coming down the hall. Running down the hall would be a more accurate description. A few seconds later she caught sight of Jane running towards her door. She felt elated at the sight of Jane coming after her. She flung the door open so they met right in the doorway of her room. Jane practically crashed into her, but she managed to stop herself just in time. As she stopped herself Jane brought her lips crashing down onto Maura's. She poured everything she felt into that kiss. She wanted Maura to feel what she was feeling about them being together.

Maura was taken by surprise for a moment, but soon her brain caught her up with what was happening and she kissed Jane back. She had never had anyone kiss her with such intensity as Jane was right now. She could feel how much Jane loved and cared for her. She could feel that even though Jane might be nervous about their future together that there was a confidence there too that they would work things out. In that instant when Jane kissed her she knew everything would work out no matter what.

They broke apart when the need for oxygen became too great for their lungs to bear any longer. But they only inhaled a couple of quick breaths before their lips met once again. Jane decided to take some control here. She tangled one hand in Maura's blonde locks at the back of her neck and the other slid around Maura's waist. She started to slowly move them into Maura's room so they weren't standing in the doorway for people in the hall to see if they left their rooms.

Before Maura could realize what was happening Jane had her pushed up against the wall and their bodies were pressed into each other. She gasped at the sensation. Jane took advantage, deciding to deepen the kiss and slid her tongue into Maura's mouth. Maura let out a moan, which Jane swallowed, and then battled her for control of the kiss.

They kept up the battle until they both had to relinquish or face blacking out from lack of oxygen. They stood with their bodies still pressed together and their chests heaving trying to get enough oxygen back into their lungs.

"Now that is a good night kiss," Maura expressed as she have recovered a tad bit faster than Jane.

"I knew I should have kissed you," Jane replied.

"I'd say that was the right call on your part."

"Yeah, now I can say that it really is a good night."

They both looked into the others eyes and smiled at all the love and affection they saw radiating back. Yes they still had a few things to work out, but they would make it.

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**Ok, was that it? Is that what y'all have been waiting for since the moment Jane discovered her name on the front of that envelope in Maura's kitchen? I have to confess, the real title of this chapter should have been _(Kissed You) Goodnight Night_. Some of y'all might recognize it as a Gloriana song, but I didn't want to give away the ending in the title. I think this could be an ending for this story, but I don't quite feel it's over yet. I still feel like I should get them back to Boston together. So I do have more in mind for this story, but I'm going to have to find the inspiration to get it written and I don't know when an update might come to try and get us on the way there. I am trying to work diligently at getting it written though. Thank you all so much for reading! And as always I'd love to know what you think!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Well here it is! Finally another chapter! I know it's been quite some time, but finally I got it out. Thank you all of you who have stuck around and all the new faves and follows I've received for this story. Thank you also for all of the reviews from the last chapter. I love getting all of the notifications about new readers and all the reviews in my mailbox each day. Anyway, I'll let ya'll get back to the story. Enjoy!**

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Jane slowly cracked her eyes open. She could tell it was later in the morning by the amount of sunlight coming in through the curtains that were open just a bit in the room. She took in a deep breath and let it out deciding that soon she would have to get up. She was just so comfortable though she really didn't want to move. Then it occurred to her. She wasn't in her hotel room. This wasn't the bed that she had slept in the past couple of nights. Then it all returned to her.

She'd spent the night here with Maura. Once she had kissed Maura neither of them could seem to get enough of the other. They mutually decided they should wait a bit longer before they were physically intimate, but before they knew it they had been up most of the night. After the last couple of days they were both exhausted and Maura begged her to stay; to sleep in the bed next to her like they used to do at home. How could she say no to that? So here she was in Maura's bed, in her hotel room, following one of the best nights of her life. Maura.

She turned her head to the side and realized that she didn't see any blonde hair splayed out on the pillow next to her. Jane slid her hand over to the other side of the bed. It was cold. Obviously Maura had been up for quite some time now.

Just then she started to wonder if maybe Maura had had second thoughts about everything that had happened over the last couple of days. She whipped back the covers and jumped up out of the bed. She halted in her tracks a few steps from the bed. Her first thought was to check the bathroom, but she couldn't just walk in there could she? What if Maura was in there and in the middle of something? That would definitely make for an awkward situation. She and Maura were dating now though. How did that change things in this kind of situation?

Finally she decided to just deal with it if it came to that point. Jane made her way to the bathroom. She realized quickly that the door was cracked to it, but there were no lights on inside that would indicate anyone was in there. That meant she would need to try the rest of the suite.

The next obvious choice was the living room they had had their discussion in the other night. She walked over to the doors that closed off the bedroom from the living room and hesitantly opened them. Jane peeked her head out from around one of the doors, checking out room. She wasn't quite sure what made her feel it necessary to peek cautiously like that, but she had anyway. She saw that the coffee table in front of the couch had been pushed up against it to allow for some extra space in that area. There was a yoga mat in front of it, on which Maura was posed in one of the intricate poses she had mastered. Jane was sure the pose was something that had been thought up after a few unfortunate spins in a game of twister.

"How did you sleep?" Maura questioned as she started to move into a new pose?

"How did you-"

"You aren't exactly a master of stealth Jane," she answered cutting off Jane's question. "You seemed to hit the floor fairly rapidly a few minutes ago. I was starting to wonder if I needed to go in check and see if you'd had a nightmare."

"No, no nightmares. I just woke up and you weren't there."

"And you started to wonder if I had run away again?"

Jane dropped her head in embarrassment. She wanted Maura to know that she trusted her, but it was what she had been thinking. "Yes," she replied sheepishly while nodding her head as well.

"It's understandable," Maura responded trying to let Jane know she understood her thinking and wasn't upset about it. "Anyone would have doubts, especially considering the way I left the first time. There's nothing wrong with what you thought."

Maura now moved into her last pose. She could keep going; she had only started her yoga routine this morning so she would have something to do until Jane woke up. "I woke up early this morning and couldn't go back to sleep. You looked so peaceful I didn't want to risk waking you up with my movements. I decided it would be best if I got up and didn't disturb you. It gave me a chance to do some meditation and clear my head a little. Would you like to have breakfast together? We could head downstairs to the restaurant or have room service delivered."

"Okay," Jane replied. "Room service sounds nice." As much as she loved going out to places with Maura, right now she wanted nothing more than to just have more one on one time with her. After waking up the way she did, thinking that Maura was gone again, she just wanted some quiet time with the woman. Plus they still had some things they needed to work out.

Before they knew it there was a knock at the door. A cart was wheeled into the room that contained their breakfast order and moments later they were left to enjoy their food. Jane removed the cover resting on the top of her plate to reveal the pancakes she had ordered. They weren't shaped like bunnies, but they looked delicious. Only now did she realize she was nearly ravenous. Maura lifted the cover on her plate to reveal an egg white omelet with various vegetables Jane didn't particularly want to identify. Normally Maura would have a comment to make about her ordering pancakes and she was surprised when nothing came from her the other side of their table.

"What you aren't going to comment about how I should eat healthier?" Jane questioned as she picked up the syrup and started to help herself to a heavy dose of the thick, sweet liquid.

Maura paused with a bite of food halfway to her mouth. Maura shook her head back and forth indicating that she had no comment about the choice of Jane's breakfast. "Well, I figure there will be plenty of mornings in the future for me to educate you on how important the first meal of the day is to get one's body functioning properly for the day ahead." She stuck the bite of food on her fork in her mouth and proceeded to chew.

Jane's mouth dropped open a little at her statement, but in an instant she was smiling. "Do you mean that?"

Maura looked up from her plate and met Jane's eyes. She tilted her head to the side slightly as if asking what Jane meant by that.

"You just said you'd have plenty of mornings in the future to educate me. Do you mean that?"

"You know I can't lie," Maura supplied as an answer. She knew that this was something they needed to discuss. It had bothered Jane terribly last night when she didn't want to discuss the future. It was part of what woke her up so early this morning. She had stayed up even after Jane had fallen asleep trying to figure out what it was she wanted out of their future. What she wanted with them being together. She had slept fitfully and then woken early still plagued with the thoughts. While it was true that she had gotten up so she didn't disturb Jane, she had also gotten up so that she could think a little more and meditate to try and control the thoughts that were running wild in her mind.

"You just said something about our future," Jane pointed out. "I thought you were just enjoying the present?"

"I still am, but I have had some time to think about our future. I know last night it might have sounded like I didn't know if I wanted us to be together. Please know that that is all I want. I want us to be together and have a life together. I want to spend our remaining time here in New York together and I want to spend the foreseeable future together. Like you had doubts about me being here this morning when you woke up alone, I had doubts last night about us being together as real. I had a wonderful time last night, but I found myself stopping a few times and looking around wondering if it was all really happening. I suppose I spent so much time convincing myself that you would never love the way I loved you that I had those doubts last night that it was real. I just need you to understand it's going to take some time, but I do know that we have a future together."

Jane reached across the table and took Maura's hand in her own. She smiled at her saying, "Thank you."

Maura looked confused when she replied with a thanks. "Like you said to me earlier, it's okay to have doubts. You also let me in just then. You voiced your concerns with me and so long as I have some idea of what you're going through and trying to work out then I will do everything I can to help. I needed to know that you did see a future for us and that it's something you wanted. Now that I know it is, I'm sure things will work out just fine." Jane gave Maura's hand a squeeze for reassurance that it would be alright.

They each let out a breath they didn't realize they had been holding following the serious turn in their conversation and then returned to eating. A few minutes later something else Maura had said dawned on Jane. "Speaking of our time left here in New York. How much longer did you plan on staying?"

"I hadn't actually planned that out now that I'm not leaving with mother. She leaves in a couple of days and when I originally left I had planned to go back to Paris with her for a short stay. Now that certain events have changed things," she said while smiling coyly at Jane, "it's safe to say that I will no longer be going with her. So I guess we can stay for as long as you'd like."

"I don't want to stay," Jane commented while shaking her head. "I want to go home. I want us to go home."

Jane got out of the car and decided to head to the truck to help with some of the luggage. There was certainly going to be more there than what Maura could carry by herself.

She grabbed a couple of the bags while the driver took the others. They proceeded to follow Maura to the front door. Maura stuck her key in the lock and turned it. At the turn of the handle the door swung open. She followed right behind Maura with the luggage. The driver set the bags down just inside the door. They thanked him for his help and Jane closed the door behind him once she had placed the bags she had carried next to the ones just set down. She turned around to face Maura. She stuck her hands in her pockets and let her eyes drift around the room. She knew she should say something, but she had no idea where to start.

Maura was in a similar position. She smoothed out the non-existent wrinkles in her dress as her eyes seemed to find something in the floor that was interesting. She knew it couldn't be easy for Jane being back here like this. The last time Jane was here she had experienced heartbreak. Maura wanted her to know that she would never have to go through something like that again, but she couldn't find the words to phrase it properly.

"I'm sorry," Maura finally muttered after a few moments of silence between them. It wasn't what she wanted to say, but she couldn't think of anything more appropriate.

The words caught Jane's attention and she looked over at Maura meeting her gaze. "For what?" she questioned.

"For everything that has happened; I know it can't be easy to be back here after what you experienced just a few days ago."

"Hey, let's try not to think about that right now," Jane said as she started to slowly walk towards Maura. "Yes, it was the worst moment of my life to walk in and find that letter on the counter. I almost lost it completely, but now it's all in the past. I have just what I wanted. I'm here again with you and that's all that matters to me right now." She took a couple more small steps and leaned over slightly to capture Maura's lips.

Jane slid her arms around Maura's waist to pull her in a little closer. Maura wrapped her arms around Jane's neck, but their kiss remained light. It ended just a few moments later and rested her forehead against Maura's, wanting to keep close contact between them. Their eyes remained closed.

"I meant in in New York when I said that I wanted us to go home," Jane whispered to Maura. "Home could really be anywhere so long as I was with you, but I want this to be our home. I want you to feel like you belong here too, because you do. This isn't just my city, it's ours and I want us to share it."

"I love you, Maura Dorothea Isles," she stated as she leaned back slightly to get Maura to open her eyes so she could look at them.

Maura's eyes remained close for a few seconds longer. When she did open them Jane could see tears starting to form in them. "I love you too, Jane Clementine Rizzoli," she whispered as she looked into the dark chocolate eyes of the woman she loved. "Nothing is going to change that, and I am so glad you wanted to come home with me."

They stood there with each other for a few more minutes letting everything sink in between them. They didn't need any more words. They knew that everything was right and they were finally home, together, forever. They could both have this city and they would make the life they wanted in it.

"Oh," Jane asked after some time of silence between them, "I almost forgot. What happened to your Red Sox jersey that I gave you? I looked in your closet for it before I left and I couldn't find it anywhere."

Maura's mouth turned into a sheepish grin. She stepped back from Jane and made her way over to the bags near the door. She tilted one of them over, laying it flat on the floor and unzipped it. After taking out a couple of articles of her own clothing, Maura pulled out a couple more. When she turned to face Jane again there rested the jersey, perfectly folded, in Maura's hands. "I couldn't leave without it," she said.

She took a few steps over to Jane and stopped a few feet from her. She gently took the jersey and lifted it off of another article. She passed the jersey to Jane and then looked down at the other article. Jane followed her gaze. Underneath the jersey was one of Jane's old BPD t-shirts. She had a few of them that she kept here in a drawer Maura had designated for her clothes in case of an emergency.

"I couldn't leave without this either," she spoke as she ran the fingers of one hand gently over the top, feeling its softness. "It smells like you. I couldn't bear to go without having at least one thing of yours and the best gift anyone has ever given me."

Jane took the jersey and unfolded it. First she studied the back before turning it around so Maura could see the backside. "There's a reason this reads Rizzoli. It's not because I saw you as an adopted member of the Rizzoli clan. Well, I guess part of it is that, but it's also because when I had Rizzoli put on there I loved you more than anything and I wished that I could make you a part of our family. I didn't think I'd ever have a chance to make that happen, but I still wanted you to know that you were so important to me."

"I came looking for it before I left because I wanted to bring it to you and tell you just what I've told you now. I was so upset that I couldn't find it. It flashed through my mind for a moment that you might have it, but I could tell you were so hurt in your letter that I wasn't entirely sure. I got so caught up with everything else I forgot about it until we got back here." She lowered the jersey and draped it over her arm. She knew Maura would most likely hang it back up or fold it the way she wanted it later, so she wasn't too concerned at how it looked right now.

Maura looked into Jane's eyes. "I took the shirt because it smells like you. Like I said I needed to keep a piece of you with me and something that would smell like you. I slid this," she looked back down at the shirt; once more running her hand over it, "over one of the extra pillows on the bed and held on to it the first couple of nights as a slept. It was on the pillow the night you showed up at my door in the hotel."

"Then why wasn't in on there when I spent the night in your room?"

"Well once you showed up I didn't need it anymore." The pitch of her voice dropped just a little lower. She was now looking directly into Jane's eyes and she was sure she could see them starting to dilate just a little. "Why would I need this silly little thing when I had the real one that was so much better?"

The question would go unanswered; even if Jane had had a response. Before she had a chance to even think about it Maura had captured her lips with her own. Just a quickly there was a battle for dominance of the kiss. It didn't matter who would win because they had each other and from here on out that would never change.

* * *

**Well, now that y'all have read the chapter I'm hoping you could tell that that was the end of this story. Because this is most certainly the end of this one. I'm a little sad to have to say that because now I have to tell you all that I am going to be taking a break from writing Rizzoli & Isles fanfics. I have had a hard time with inspiration for this series and some of that comes from watching this current season; it has really drained me this time rather than inspire like it usually does. I have already written a couple of stories for South of Nowhere and I will most likely continue writing for that series for a while. For all of you who have been following me and reading all of the stories I can't thank you enough for all of your support and encouragement. I don't even have the words to tell you how much it has meant to me as a writer to have that support and encouragement, so again thank you from the bottom of my heart. When inspiration does strike again to write an R&I story I'll get it out to you, but until then keep reading and I'll see y'all around in the future. As always I'd love to hear what you have to say on this chapter or any of my writings! Thanks!**


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